The state pay commission headed by former chief secretary G.S. Kang has finalised its recommendations with regard to awarding of seventh pay commission scale to around 3.5 lakh Bihar government employees and around 4 lakh pensioners, and the report will be submitted to the government next week.

Kang and pay commission member secretary Rahul Singh held a final consultative meeting and made a presentation before chief minister Nitish Kumar at his 1 Aney Marg residence on Saturday. "We will submit our report to the Bihar government next week. Parity will be maintained with the seventh pay scale given by the Centre. However, our recommendations would be minus the allowances, which will be decided by the state government later on," Kang told The Telegraph.

Though Kang refused to divulge the salient recommendations, sources said the seventh pay scale will be given with retrospective effect from January 1, 2016.

Rahul, who is also serving as the secretary (expenditure) with the finance department, said secretaries of all departments and officials concerned were consulted for the report.

"Though it is not mandatory for the government to accept the recommendations of the pay commission, so far there has been no difference of opinion. The report is ready and there will be no finance-related problems," Rahul said.

The submission of pay panel report awaits the return of rural works department secretary Vinay Kumar, away on an official tour and the exact date will be decided accordingly.

Finance department officials said allowances were left out of the state pay commission recommendations because the central government finalised it earlier this week. Bihar will have to decide its own allowance structure for its employees.

"The pay commission could have waited a bit to incorporate recommendations on allowances also, but Kang wants to return now. He is around 75 and is settled in Chandigarh, but came to Bihar on the chief minister's request to help out in the 350th Prakash Utsav last year," a finance department source told The Telegraph.

"Kang was appointed chairman of the pay commission on December 21, 2016. It has been a long time for him and it is not easy for him to shuttle frequently between Patna and Chandigarh. His wish to return expedited finalisation of recommendations," the source said.

Finance officials said the state government currently spends around Rs 40,000 crore per year on salary and pension of its serving and former employees and the revised pay scale and pension will cast an additional burden of around 17 per cent.