LTC when both husband and wife are Government servants

Leave Travel Concession: when both husband and wife are Government servants and are residing together. reg.
According to the definition of family as given under rule 4, which is applicable, in travel inter alia, for the purpose of admissibility of LTC, the family of a Government servant includes wife or husband, as the case may be, residing with the Government servant and children residing with and wholly dependent upon the Govt. servant. In addition, it includes the parents, sisters and minor brothers, if residing with and wholly dependent upon the Government servant.
According to the existing position where both husband and wife are Govt. servants and are residing together, they constitute one family unit for the purpose of LTC and only one of them can claim this concession and the other spouse travels as a member of his/her family.
In such a case, the Govt. servants are required to make a joint declaration of a common hometown, which can be the hometown of either of the spouses or a third place. Therefore, the spouse who avails the LTC as member of family of the other could not claim the benefit separately for his/her own parents or dependent minor brothers and sisters even if they were residing with him/her.
On the other hand, where a couple, both being Govt. servants, are residing separately can claim the benefit of LTC individually for their dependent parents, minor brothers and sisters and also declare two separate places as their respective hometowns.
Therefore, the husband and wife when both are Govt. employees and are staying together suffer from certain disadvantages inasmuch as they have to declare common hometown and only one of them can claim the benefit of LTC.
The matter has been considered in consultation with Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) and it has been decided that where 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.
All other conditions for admissibility of the LTC shall continue to be applicable as per normal provisions of the scheme. The above decision will be applicable to the journeys performed for availing the LTC against the block years 1990-91 onwards.