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NRIDA (Travelling Allowance) Byelaws, 2020

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(Approved by NRIDA General Body on 16th February, 2021)

Title & Commencement

These Byelaws shall be referred to as the ‘NRRDA (Traveling Allowance) Byelaws, 2020.

Scope of the Byelaws

They shall apply to the personnel working on deputation, contract or support staff (hereinafter referred to as ‘the employees’) in the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency.

Definitions

For the purpose of these Byelaws:

  • ‘Agency’ means the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency.
  • ‘Competent Authority’ means the Director General, NRIDA or any other officer to whom he delegates his powers under these Byelaws.
  • ‘Daily Allowance’ means the allowance paid to cover expenses incurred incidental to travelling and staying at places other than at Headquarters while on official duty.
  • ‘Day’ means a full calendar day of 24 hours reckoned from midnight to midnight.
  • ‘Duty Point’ means the place or office where an employee remains on duty, i.e, the place/office of employment at the Headquarters.
  • ‘Family’ means:
    1. Wife / husband, as the case may be;
    2. Sons and unmarried daughters dependant on the employee;
    3. Widowed sister residing with and wholly dependant on the employee, provided that father is either not alive or is himself wholly dependant on the employee concerned.
    4. Married daughters, if dependent and residing with the employee in special and exceptional circumstances.
  • ‘Home’ means the permanent hometown or village of the employee as entered in his service records or such other place as declared by him.
  • ‘Local Journey’ means a journey within the Municipal limits of city in which duty point of the employee is located.
  • ‘Mileage Allowance’ means an allowance paid to an employee to meet the cost of a particular journey and is to be calculated on the basis of the distance travelled.
  • ‘Pay’ means Basic Pay plus Dearness Pay being drawn by an employee.
  • ‘Transfer’ means the movement of an employee from one Headquarter Station to another Headquarter station either:
    • to take over the duty of a new post;
    • to return to his Headquarter Station after completion of tenure with the Agency; or
    • consequent upon change of his Headquarter.
  • ‘Traveling Allowance’ means a compensatory allowance granted to an employee to cover the expenses incurred in travelling in the service of the Agency.
  • ‘Travel by road’ includes travel by sea or river in a launch or a vessel other than a steamer, and travel by canal.

Traveling Allowance

  • An employee of NRIDA leaving Headquarters for travel to outstations in connection with the Agency’s work shall be entitled to claim reimbursement of travel expenses in the form of mileage allowance and daily allowance as prescribed in these Byelaws.
  • Mileage allowance shall be admissible for a journey between the residence / duty point and Railway Station / Airport, only if the employee is residing within the municipal limits of the Headquarter. Otherwise, it shall be restricted to the expenditure which would have been incurred had the journey been undertaken from the duty point to the nearest Railway Station / Airport.

Regulation of Travelling Allowance

  • Travelling Allowance will be regulated with reference to the pay drawn in the post actually held at the time of journey.
  • The competent authority may, for reasons to be recorded, place an employee in a grade higher or lower than that prescribed.
  • Travelling entitlements for YCE and CA would be the same as that of Level III officers of the Agency

Nature of Entitlement

Entitlement of the employees to reimbursement of fares for journeys performed on official duty between the Headquarters station and tour station by different means of transport shall be as given below, subject to the actual:

  Train Air Road
Director General AC I Class/ Executive Class in Shatabdi Trains Business/ Club Class Actual fare by any type of Bus/ Tax including AC Bus/Taxi Fare
Level I Officers. AC I Class/ Executive Class in Shatabdi Trains Business/ Club Class Actual fare by any type of Bus/ Tax including AC Bus/Taxi Fare
Level II Officers AC I Class/ Executive Class in Shatabdi Trains Economy class Actual fare by any type of Bus/ Non AC Taxi
Level III Officers AC II Class/ Chair Car in Shatabdi Trains Economy class Actual fare by any type of Bus/ Non AC Taxi
Support Staff AC-2 or 3 Tier/ I Class Not admissible Actuals

* On self - certification

For tours to places not connected by rail but connected with the railway system by steamer or to places such as Andamans and Lakshadweep if the steamer service is not owned by the railways or for journeys otherwise by sea, the reimbursement of fares for such portion as is undertaken by steamer or otherwise by sea shall be as follows::

D.G & Level - I Officers Highest Class
Level II & III Officers Higher Class
Others Lower Class
  • For journeys performed by road between places connected by rail the reimbursement shall be restricted to rail fare as per entitlement subject to actuals.
  • For journeys between places not connected by rail and where road travel is customary, the reimbursement of fares actually paid will be allowed in full.
  • Notwithstanding the above provision, the Director General, NRIDA may relax all or any of the conditions in regard to journeys by road to places connected by rail and permit reimbursement of actual fare by road journeys to Level I to III officers. While deciding to do so he / she shall keep in view the locations of various destinations, availability of various facilities and such other relevant factors.
  • Reimbursement of fare will normally be allowed by the shortest route on through ticket basis. Director General NRIDA may, however, relax this provision in exceptional circumstances.
  • All additional expenses, like charge for sleeper accommodation, surcharge for Super-fast train, reservation fee for booking tickets, cancellation of tickets for journeys not undertaken due to official reasons, will also be reimbursable.
  • The claim for reimbursement of rail fare shall be supported by a photocopy of the ticket used. But where the photocopy is not available, PNR No. of the ticket shall always be cited.
  • Actual conveyance charges for journeys between Railway Stations/Bus Stand/Airport and Residence/place of stay either at Headquarters or tour stations and other official journeys performed by road at tour stations through means of conveyance other than NRRDA hired transport will also be reimbursed. Tips, if any, paid to the drivers etc. for vehicles engaged for official work, will not be reimbursed.

Mileage Allowance

  • Mileage Allowance shall be calculated on the basis of shortest practicable route. The Competent Authority may, however, sanction mileage allowance by a route other than the shortest route for special reasons to be recorded.
  • When an employee travels by a route, which is not the shortest but is the cheapest, the mileage allowance shall be calculated on the route actually used.
  • Non-availability of reserved accommodation will not be an acceptable ground for travel by a longer route.
  • If the journey is performed by a class lower than the entitled class, the claim will be allowed only for the lower class.

Admissible Mileage Allowance

  • For travel between places connected by rail: The employee may travel by any type of bus. He will be entitled to actual bus fare or rail fare of the entitled class whichever is less.
  • For travel between places not connected by rail: The employee may travel by entitled class in a bus and claim full reimbursement of the fare paid.
  • For a journey performed by a motorcar between places connected by railway: The question whether full rates of mileage allowance should be paid or whether it should be limited to rail fare, shall be decided by the Competent Authority keeping in view the circumstances of the case.
  • Road mileage allowance for tour will be admissible from duty point / residence at Headquarters to the Railway Station/ Airport /Bus Stand and vice versa.
  • Mileage allowance for local journeys made from the duty point at tour station will be admissible only for the journey between Railway Station/ Bus Stand / Airport to duty point and vice versa on arrival and departure respectively.

Daily Allowance

  • Daily allowance may be drawn by an employee while on tour as per their entitlement according to extant GoI rules.
  • Daily Allowance is paid to cover expenses incurred incidental to travelling and staying at places other than at Headquarters.
  • Daily Allowance shall be calculated for the entire absence from Headquarters on a calendar day basis from midnight to midnight and shall include halts and the holidays occurring during tour if such holidays are spent in camp actually and not merely constructively.
  • Daily allowance is also admissible during enforced halts caused by disturbances / curfew at the tour station provided that special casual leave is granted or the period is treated as an enforced holiday.
  • Daily Allowance is not admissible for the any casual leave and/or restricted holiday availed of while on tour..

Hotel Entitlement Tariff

For all the officers on deputation the hotel entitlement on tour will be as per their GoI entitlements payable upon production of hotel bills.

For Support Staff: A Composite Daily Allowance, covering both the boarding & lodging expenses of Rs. 1500/- per diem will be payable on production of receipts

In case of short duration halts, en-route to their destination for catching rail/air connection, reimbursement of hotel charges will be admissible only when night halt is involved and considered unavoidable.

Calculation of Daily Allowance

  • Daily allowance will be calculated for the period of absence from Headquarters in the manner stated below:
  • Journeys by rail. The entire absence from headquarters will be taken into account with reference to the actual departure/arrival time of the train from / at the Railway station.
  • Journeys by bus. The entire absence will be reckoned with reference to the actual departure / arrival time from / at the bus stand.
  • Journeys by air. The entire absence from headquarters will be reckoned with reference to scheduled reporting / actual arrival time at the airport.
  • Broken periods of a ‘Day’. Daily allowance may be drawn on the following scale:
    • For absence of less than 6 hours = Nil
    • For absence of 6 hours or more but less than 12 hours = 70%
    • For absence of 12 hrs and above = Full
  • Daily Allowance can be drawn for the journey period including all halts on duty and holidays occurring during the period of halt.
  • Full Daily Allowance will be paid for the first 7 days of continuous halt at a station on tour/ temporary transfer. No daily allowance will be payable beyond 7 days.
  • If an employee is provided both boarding and lodging free of cost, i.e. as a guest, he will draw only 1/4th of the daily allowance admissible.
  • If only free board is allowed, he may draw half-daily allowance for that/ those day/s.
    • Note: Free boarding means when all the principal meals are provided throughout the stay at the outstation at public expense. Casual lunch is not to be considered as free boarding.
  • If only free lodging is allowed, he may draw three-fourths of daily allowance for that/those day/s.
  • But if any obligatory charges for services such as water, electricity, scavenging, furniture etc. have to be paid, the accommodation will not be treated as free lodging and no reduction will be made in the daily allowance.

Enforced Halts

  • Daily Allowance is admissible for the enforced periods of absence due to disturbance/curfew while on tour, if such absence is subsequently regularized by grant of special casual leave.
  • No Daily Allowance will be admissible for a journey performed up to 40 Kms. from NRIDA Headquarters in connection with the official work. Only actual conveyance charges as per entitlement may be reimbursed in such cases.

Local Journeys

  • Local journey means:
  • a journey beyond 8 Kms. within the Municipal limits of the town or city of the duty point; or
  • a journey to the suburban areas, municipalities or cantonments contiguous to the city of duty point; or
  • a journey within the project area.
  • An employee performing local journeys on any day on duty beyond 8 Kms. from the duty point at headquarters shall be allowed mileage allowance for journey involved alongwith Daily Allowance at ordinary locality rates admissible as per their entitlement according to extant GoI rules.
  • For short journeys within 8 Kms. actual cost of hiring a conveyance will be sanctioned.

Transfer Allowance

Personnel taken on deputation by the Agency will be entitled to transfer TA/ DA including baggage allowance as per the Central Government Rules.

Family traveling separately

  • If the employee has to leave his family behind due to non-availability of official accommodation at the new station one additional fare of the entitled class, to and fro, will be paid to the employee.
  • Travelling Allowance will also be paid when members of the family of an employee follow him within 6 months from the date of his transfer or precede him by not earlier than one month.
  • Reimbursement of expenditure incurred on carriage of personal effects shall be governed by the rules applicable to the employee in his parent Department.

Claims for TA

  • The claims for travelling allowance should be preferred within sixty days of the completion of the return journey in the format given at Annexure 5.
  • Any claim not preferred within the time limit will stand forfeited unless the competent authority condones the delay for reasons to be recorded in writing.

Hotel Accommodation during tour abroad*

No monetary ceilings are prescribed for hotel rentals. The Indian Missions in all countries maintain panels of hotels approved by them. The visiting officers are required to arrange accommodation in a hotel on the approved panel and claim reimbursement of the actual hotel room rentals (including service charges, taxes and other charges).

Where such booking is not feasible for any reason accommodation may be booked in any other hotel subject to the monetary ceilings given below

  Class of Country** / Monetary limits (in US$)
  A B C
DG and Level I Officers 150 125 100
Level II and Level III Officers 100 85 70

** The countries have been classified as A, B and C on the basis of the DA rates of US$ 100, US$ 75 and US$ 60, respectively prescribed by MEA (Annexure 6)

No lodging charges will be payable when the official is treated as guest of the State / Institution and is provided free accommodation during the visit

Daily Allowance on tour abroad

  • a) Daily Allowance for the duration of the tour will be admissible at the rates prescribed by MEA for the relevant country and would be regulated as per the orders issued by the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure vide their O.M. No. Q/FD/695/3/2000, dated 21-9-2010 (Annexure 6) as amended from time to time. No Daily Allowance will be paid for the period during which the official is not on duty.
  • The rates of Daily Allowance applicable for different countries, with effect from 21-9-2010 are listed at Annexure 6.
  • These rates remain the same throughout a country.
  • Admissibility of Daily Allowance for various officers shall be as below:-
    • Level I Officers. Full rates as indicated in the enclosed list.
    • Level II Officers. 75% of the prescribed rate.
  • When the hotel charges also include breakfast the amount of Daily allowance payable shall stand reduced by 10%
  • Only 25% of the Daily Allowance shall be admissible to an officer who is treated as State Guest and is provided all his meals free of cost
  • No reimbursement on account of tips etc., in addition to the Daily Allowance, shall be admissible.
  • In countries, where local currencies are freely convertible, the equivalent amount of DA prescribed in US Dollars may be paid in the local currency.
    • The local currency equivalent may be arrived at via., Rupee, by using the official rates of exchange fixed from time to time.
  • In countries where local currencies are not freely convertible, the DA prescribed for the country concerned may be paid in US Dollars.

Hospitality / Telephone / Incidental / Misc. Expenditure on tour abroad

Incidental charges to cover miscellaneous expenses including telephone charges and other incidentals will be allowed at the rate of US $ 50 per day for the DG and level I officers and US $ 25 per day for Level II and III officers. These charges will, however, be paid only for the period of tour, excluding the period in which the official is not on duty.

Conveyance Expenses on tour abroad

  • Actual expenditure incurred on travel and transport for official journeys, during the tour period and considered reasonable and necessary by the controlling authority will be reimbursed subject to the provision of their receipts.
  • This will, however, be further subject to specific provision of funds in the order sanctioning the deputation/delegation.

Settlement of Bills

Within 30 days of return from tour the official concerned shall submit accounts to NRIDA supported, inter alia, by the following:

  • Bills / Vouchers for Hotel Accommodation.
  • Self Certificate for expenditure incurred on boarding, conveyance, telephone, hospitality and other incidental / miscellaneous expenses.

The balance amount, if any, remaining unspent out of the TA advance drawn for the tour will also be surrendered along with the accounts.

Interpretation

In interpretation of any clause, the decision of the Director General shall prevail.

Power to relax

Power to relax in exceptional circumstances rests with the Director General.

Miscellaneous

All situations and exigencies not covered under the Byelaws above shall be resolved with reference to corresponding provisions of extant GoI rules provided from time to time.

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