Y category status to Rajamahendravaram under review

Rajamahendravaram: The Central Government is actively considering the proposal to upgrade Rajamahendravaram to a ‘Y’ category city. The city is currently classified as a ‘Z’ category city. The proposal was put forth by BJP State President and Rajahmundry MP Daggubati Purandeswari in a letter to the Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal on August 5. In her letter, she emphasised that with the city’s population exceeding five lakh, it is essential to review this classification during the upcoming reorganisation.

The MP’s office released a statement regarding this on Monday. In response, the Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, acknowledged the request, stating that the letter has been reviewed and the relevant documents are being considered by the department.

Expressing her delight at the positive response, MP Purandeswari thanked the central minister for the consideration. She explained that elevating Rajamahendravaram to ‘Y’ category status would lead to an increase in the House Rent Allowance (HRA) for Central government employees, from the current 10% to 20%, along with additional funding for essential infrastructure like drainage and parks. She expressed optimism that approval for this change would be granted soon. City categories are based on population size and are used to determine HRA for government employees. Cities with a population of 50 lakhs or more are considered Class X.

Class Y cities have a population of 5 lakhs to 50 lakhs and Class Z cities a population of less than 5 lakhs. These categories are also known as Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3 cities, respectively. The HRA rates for these categories are revised based on the Dearness Allowance.