The Karnataka government has brought salary, leave and other service-related matters of employees in various departments under the Sakala time-bound service system, setting deadlines ranging from seven to 90 working days for official decisions.
The order, reported by Prajavani on October 18, 2026, covers services linked to pay, promotions, leave, allowances, pension, provident fund withdrawals, travel claims, medical reimbursements and permissions for personal and professional activities. The move gives employees defined timelines for matters that are handled through departmental administrative processes.
Under the schedule, issuing salary and pay-scale certificates must be completed within three working days. Sanctioning arrears of salary has been assigned a deadline of 90 working days, while approval of the senior pay scale and permission to draw the first salary must be completed within 30 working days.
Several routine service matters have been given a 15-working-day limit. These include time-bound salary increment approvals, annual increments, final pay certificates for employees transferred or deputed elsewhere, sanction of leave salary, house-building and vehicle advances, and fixing terms and conditions for officers on other service deputations.
Different categories of leave, including earned, commuted, half-pay and extraordinary leave, along with sanction of charge allowance, must be processed within 10 working days. Travel allowance claims, medical expense reimbursements, settlement of pension and gratuity, general provident fund advances, partial and final withdrawals, and settlement of death cases have been assigned a deadline of 30 working days.
The order also sets timelines for permissions and certificates that employees may require outside routine payroll administration. A no-objection certificate for a passport must be issued within 10 working days, while permission for foreign travel has a 15-working-day deadline. Permission for higher studies must be granted within seven working days, and approval to purchase or sell a house, site or vehicle must be completed within 30 working days.
A seven-working-day limit has been set for sanctioning festival advances. Sending a service book and providing a copy of the service book must be completed within 15 working days. Declaration or extension of probationary service, correction of an employee’s name in the seniority list and sanction of compulsory waiting periods have been assigned a 30-working-day deadline.
The schedule provides up to 90 working days for compassionate appointments and sanction of disability allowance. Approval of the special allowance for family-planning compliance must be completed within 30 working days. The specified periods are working-day deadlines, meaning the time limits vary according to the category of service requested.
The Sakala framework is intended to attach defined timelines to administrative services and make delays easier to identify within the responsible departments. For Karnataka government employees, the order places a broad set of employment-related decisions—from salary documentation and leave approvals to pension settlements and compassionate appointments—within that time-bound service structure.
