Although the country continues to be in a financial crisis, the Punjabi government has increased the travel and daily allowances for provincial employees. According to a notification issued by the Punjab finance department on Tuesday, the government changed the rates of the daily allowances that are currently payable to government employees with effect from July 1. The two allowances were divided into two slabs: standard rates and special rates. Employees stationed in Hyderabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Sukkur, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Sargodha, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Murree, and northern regions are subject to special tariffs. The daily allowance for Grade 21 and 22 officials under the revised rates has increased from Rs 2,800 to Rs 4,200 per day, from Rs 2,480 to Rs 3,720 per day for Grade 19 and 20 officials, from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per day for Grades 17 and 18, from Rs 1,120 to Rs 1,680 per day for Grades 12 to 16, from Rs 624 to Rs 936 per day for Grades 5 to 11, and from Rs 496 to Rs 744 per day for Grades 1-4 officials. A Grade 22 official’s daily stipend under special rates is increased to Rs 7,200 and Rs 6,000 for Grade 21, Rs 4,920 for Grades 19 and 20, and Rs 3,840 for Grades 17 and 18. Regarding the other employees, allowance for Grades 12 through 16 is set at Rs 2,160, followed by Grades 5 through 11 at Rs 1,320, and Grades 1 through 4 at Rs 1,200. Similar to this, the transportation allowance was raised to Rs 7.5 per km for cars and Rs 3.75 for motorcycles, while the mileage allowance was raised to Rs 15 per km for personal vehicles or taxis, Rs 6 per km for motorcycles, Rs 3 per km for bicycles and Rs 3.75 per km for public transportation.