Definition of Family

6. Definition of family:

(a) The term ‘family’ shall be interpreted in the same manner as in Supplementary Rule 2(8), as amended from time to time of the Posts and Telegraphs Compilation of the Fundamental Rules and Supplementary Rules for the purpose of travelling allowance on transfer. Where both the husband and wife are employees, the concession shall be admissible to the family on the scale admissible to the husband or wife and not both.

(b) Employees and Family Independent Units-

The family members need not accompany the Board’s employees or even travel in the same financial year in which the Board’s employee travels. The family members will get the concession independently whether the Board’s employee avail it or not. The members of the family may either travel together or separately in different groups, as may be convenient to them. Where they travel in different groups at different times, reimbursement of expenditure may be allowed in respect of each group, provided the journey is performed during the currency of the block in respect of which the first group performed its journey. The return journey of each group must be completed within six months from the date of commencement of the outward journey by that group. This condition may be relaxed in special cases by the Heads of Departments, and in the case of a Head of Department by the Dy. Chairman or Chairman.

In the same block of years, some members of the family can avail the concession to visit home-town, while others for visiting any place in India.

(d) Board’s employee and/or member(s) of family may visit the same or different places :

While availing the concession to visit any place in India, the Board’s employee and/or member(s) of his family may visit the same place or different places of their choice.

(e) Concession for one way journey :

The concession is admissible to the members of a Board’s employee’s family with reference to the facts existing at the time of forward and return journey independently.

Explanations :

(A) Entitled to reimbursement in respect of the OUTWARD journey only-

(i) A dependent son/daughter getting employment or getting married after going to home-town or remaining there for prosecution of studies;

(ii) The family having performed the journey to home-town have no intention of completing the return journey from home-town, provided the Board’s employee foregoes, in writing, the concession in respect of the return journey if performed by the family members at a subsequent date.

(B) Entitled to reimbursement in respect of the RETURN journey only-

(i) A newly married husband/wife coming from home-town to headquarters station or a husband/wife who has been living long at home-town and did not avail of the LTC in respect of the outward journey;

(ii) A dependent son/daughter returning with parents or coming alone from home-town where he/she has been prosecuting studies or living with grand parents etc.;

(iii) A child who was previously below 3 years of age but has completed three at the time of return journey;

(iv) A child legally adopted by a Board’s employee while staying in the home-town.

Note :

A child who was below 12 at the time of outward journey but has completed twelve at the time of return journey will be entitled to half fare for the outward journey and full fare for the return journey.

(f) When the spouse of the Board’s employee is employed in an office other than the Board where LTC facilities are available.

The Board’s employee should furnish a certificate as under at the time of preferring the claim for LTC :

"Certified that my wife/husband for whom LTC is claimed by me is employed in (name of the Public Sector Undertaking/Corporation/Autonomous Body, etc.) which provides LTC facilities but he/she has not preferred and will not prefer any claim in this behalf from his/her employer."

(g) When the spouse is not so employed as in (f) above :

The Board’s employee, in such cases should give a certificate as under :

"Certified that my wife/husband for whom LTC is claimed by me is not employed in any Public Sector Undertaking/Corporation/Autonomous Body, etc. financed wholly or partly by the Central Government, Local Body, which provides LTC facilities to its employees and their families."

(h) Both husband and wife are Board’s employees :

In the case of husband and wife who are both Board’s employees, he or she can avail of the travel concession as a family member of the other Board’s employee. This condition applies only when the wife or husband is residing with the Board’s employee. If, for any reason, they are residing separately they can claim the concession independently as two separate employees according to his or her own entitlement.

(i) Claim for family may be separate :

Where a Board’s employee and his family perform journeys separately, there is no objection to his presenting separate claim.

(j) Children prosecuting studies at places other than home town:

Children of Board’s employees wholly dependent on them but living away from them in hostels for prosecuting studies, can avail LTC as members of the employee’s family both to home town and any place in India. In their cases, the claim will be limited to the amount admissible from the place of study to home town/any place in India and back to the place of study or from the headquarters of the Board’s employee to the home town/any place in India and back, whichever is less.

(k) Every year LTC to home town admissible to unmarried Board’s employees :

The unmarried Board’s employees who have left their wholly dependent parents, sisters and minor brothers at their home town may also be given the benefit of LTC to visit home town every year. This concession will be in lieu of all other LTC facilities admissible to Board’s employee, parents, sisters and minor brothers.

(l) Condition of `residing with waivered’ in respect of spouse and children :

In cases where the Board’s employee has left his/her spouse and the dependent children at places other than his/her headquarters, he may be allowed LTC in respect of them from the place of their residence to home town in a block of two years or any place in India in the block of four years, as the case may be, but the reimbursement should in no case exceed the actual distance in travelled by the family or the distance between Bombay and the place visited/home town, whichever is less.