Leave Travel Concession (LTC) for CG Employees

LTC or Leave Travel Concession, is one of the most commonly used facilities provided to a CG employee.

At the same time a lot of queries are raised regarding certain aspects of the provision.

Here is a list of some of the most Frequently Asked Questions regarding LTC.

1. What is home town LTC?

Hometown is the place declared by the employee as his home town

2. What is the frequency of Home Town LTC?

LTC to home Town is available for once in two years. i.e once in a block of two calendar years, such as 2008-2009, 2010-2011 and so on.

3. What is ALL India LTC?

The leave travel concession to any place in India shall be admissible irrespective of the distance of the place of visit from the headquarters of the Government servant, once in a block of four calendar years

4. How many times a government servant can avail LTC in a block of four years?

LTC is allowed for journey to “Home Town” once in a block of two years and “Any place in India” once in a block of four years in lieu of any one of two Home town LTC. In other words, in a block of 4 years a government at the maximum can either avail one home town LTC and one All India LTC or two home town LTC.

5. What is the LTC provisions available to New recruits?

Leave travel concessions shall be admissible on completion of one year’s continuous service Fresh recruits to central government may be allowed to avail 3 home town LTC and one All India LTC in lieu of one home town LTC. This concession is entitled to them for first two block years of four years.

6. What is the provisions for encashing the Earned Leave while proceeding on LTC?

Government officers are allowed to encash ten days of earned leave at the time of availing of LTC and to the extent of sixty days during the entire career. The leave encashed at the time of LTC will not be deducted from the maximum amount of earned leave encashable at the time of retirement. It is further clarified that where both husband and wife are Government servants, the present entitlement for availing LTC shall remain unchanged, and encashment of leave equal to 10 days at the time of availing of LTC will continue to be available to both, subject to a maximum of sixty days each during the career.

7. Can I change my Home Town?

The hometown once declared and accepted by the controlling officer shall be treated as final. In exceptional circumstances, the Head of the Department or if the Government servant himself is the Head of the Department, the Administrative Ministry, may authorise a change in such declaration provided that such a change shall not be made more than once during the service of a Government servant.

8. Can I carry over if I could not avail LTC during a particular block year?

A Government servant who is unable to avail of the leave travel concession within a particular block of two years or four years may avail of the same within the first year of the next block of two years or four years.

9. Can I get advance amount before proceeding to LTC?

Yes. Provisional LTC claim to the extent of 90% of estimated fare can be received as LTC advance.

10. Whether LTC is available when we travel by a private taxi?

Where a Govt. servant traveling by road takes a seat or seats in a bus, van or other vehicle operated by Tourism Development Corporations in the Public Sector, State Transport Corporations and Transport services run by other Government or local bodies, reimbursement shall be either the actual hire charges or entitled class by rail by the shortest direct route, whichever is less. Reimbursement shall not be admissible for journey by a private car (owned, borrowed or hired), or a bus, van or other vehicle owned by private operators.

11. What is the present position for travel by Air when LTC is availed?

As per OM No.7(1)E.Coord/2009 dated 22nd March, 2010 austerity measures will remain in place for travel by air (where admissible) on LTC, which would continue to be restricted to economy class irrespective of the entitlement. Also travel by private airlines has also been restricted as far as LTC is concerned. However, travel by air using private airlines while performing tour to North Eastern Regions on LTC has been permitted.

12. Whether the relaxation for travel by air to visit to NER has been extended?

No. As per the OM No: 31011/4/2007-Estt (A) dated 2.5.2008, relaxation for travel by air to visit to NER is valid till 1.5.2010.

13. Whether Group C and D employees can travel by Air to NER from their place of posting while proceeding on LTC?

No. As per the OM No: 31011/4/2007-Estt (A) dated 2.5.2008, Group A and Group B employees will be entitled to travel by Air from their place of posting in the case of tour to NER availing LTC. Other categories of employees will be entitled to travel by air to a city in the NER from Guwahati or Kolkota.

14. Can I convert my home town LTC into LTC for destinations in NER, if had performed all india LTC already during the block year of 4 years?

Yes. As per the OM No: 31011/4/2007-Estt (A) dated 2.5.2008, all central government employees will be allowed conversion of one block of Home Town LTC into LTC for destination in NER. This relaxation is irrespective of the availment of all India LTC previously by the employee in the same block year of 4 years. For example, if an employee availed All India LTC in lieu of home town LTC in the first block consisting of two years, he is eligible to avail LTC to NER in lieu of Home town LTC available in the second block consisting of two years

15. Whether I can avail LTC for my parents who are not entitled for any sort of Leave travel concession by virtue of their employment?

No. If parents are not wholly dependent on the government servant, they are not entitled for any LTC.

16. What is LTC 80?

LTC 80 is a scheme offered by Air India for booking air tickets when central government officers avail LTC. Prior to July 2009, tariff under LTC 80 was very significant as officers were allowed to travel in private airlines while claiming LTC. In such cases rates under LTC 80 were reimbursed to officers irrespective the amount spent by them for travelling in private airlines. However, after July 2009, travel by private airlines while proceeding on LTC is not allowed and further officers are allowed to claim only the economy class airfare or LTC 80 rates.

Check this Office Memorandum dated 27.07.2009 for restriction of air travel while claiming LTC

17. What are all the conditions for declaring home town?

In normal parlance home town is a place where the government servant is born. However it may not be applicable to many as we would have shifted to other places from the place of our birth due to various reasons. The following guidelines provided by govt which are not exhaustive could be useful for deciding the home town. But it’s clearly stipulated that the decision of the Controlling Officer whether or not to accept such place as the hometown of the Government servant shall be final.

a. The place declared by Government servant is the one which requires his physical presence at intervals for discharging various domestic and social obligations, and if so, whether after his entry into service, the Government servant had been visiting that place frequently.

b. The Government servant owns residential property in that place or whether he is a member of a joint family having such property there. His near relations are resident in that place.

c. Prior to his entry into Government service, the Government servant had been living there for some years.

d. Where the Government servant or the family of which he is a member owns a residential or landed property in more than one place, it is left to the Government servant to make a choice giving reasons for the same.c. d.

18. Whether both the husband and wife are eligible to LTC separately if they are government servants?

When husband and wife both are Govt. servants, they could, at their option, choose to declare separate hometown and both of them may claim the concession separately under the normal provisions of CCS (LTC) Rules in respect of the members of their respective families subject to the condition that if husband or wife avails the facility as a member of the family of the other, he or she will not be entitled for claiming the concession for self independently. Similarly, the children shall be eligible for the benefit in one particular block as members of the family of one of the parents only.

19. What are all conditions for claiming LTC when the home town of a government servant is outside india?

A Government servant who declares, subject to the satisfaction of the Controlling Officer, that his hometown is outside India, will also be entitled to the leave travel concession for visiting his hometown. LTC in such a case will be limited to the fares for journey up to and from the railway station (by the shortest route) nearest to the hometown or the railway station for the nearest port of embarkation/disembarkation in India.

20. Whether the family can perform journey separately?

Where a Government servant and his family perform journeys separately, there is no objection to his presenting separate claims. In each case, however, the claim should be for both outward and inward journeys.

Click here for all Office Memorandums on Leave Travel Concession – LTC

For full text of CCS Leave Travel Concession Rules 1988 visit the following page.

Visit this DOPT page for text of CCS Leave Travel Concession Rules, 1988