Ahead of diwali celebrations and amidst high expectations, the State government on Wednesday announced a 5 per cent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for its employees and pensioners. The announcement will become effective from November 1, 2024. Transport and Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury announced the decision while addressing a press conference in Agartala today.
"The State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, approved this 5 per cent DA increase as a Deepavali gift for government employees," Chowdhury said.
The DA hike will benefit 1,88,000 employees and pension holders.
I Watch today's cabinet meeting briefing I
He said all state government employees, DRWs, and pensioners will receive the additional DA.
The Minister explained that while various DA hike options ranging from 3 to 5 per cent were considered in the State Cabinet meeting. However, the Chief Minister stressed to reduce the disparity between the DA rates of the State and Central governments, leading to the 5 per cent increase.
Chowdhury highlighted the recent 3 per cent DA hike by the Union Government, which raised its DA total to 53 per cent, compared to the State's previous rate of 25 per cent. With the new 5 per cent increase, the State’s DA now stands at 30 per cent. The gap with Central DA has come down to 23 per cent.
Notably, since after hike in the Central DA, there was strong anticipation regarding additional DA announcement by the State Government. Speculations were rife about the rate of hike. All the speculations came to an end with the announcement of DA hike today.
He said the State government is sympathetic towards the State Government employees and pensioners and would remain committed to further narrowing the gap between the State and Central DA rates.
The 5 per cent DA hike is estimated to cost the state government an additional Rs 500 crore, Chowdhury told the media.
(Tripura, Northeast)