State issues notification to hike dearness allowance of govt employees by 3% from Jan

Kolkata: Within ten days of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's announcement of 3 percent hike in dearness

allowance (DA), the state government on Monday has issued a notification to implement the same from the new year for the state government

employees.

Unlike previous years, the dearness relief of the pensioners have also been notified on Monday itself.

Usually it takes place later only after the notification for current employees.

It was on December 3, the Chief Minister had announced the hike in DA despite financial crisis due to the Covid situation and when the Centre owes Rs 85,000 crore to the state government.

The memorandum stated that "the whole time state government employees drawing basic pay upto Rs 2.1 lakh shall draw DA at 3 percent of basic pasy with effect from January 1 in 2021. The calculation of dearness allowance shall be made taking into account the revised basic pay and NPA, if any, but it shall not include any other type of pay".

It is applicable for "state government employees including teach and non-teaching staff in government aided educational institutions, employees of statutory bodies, government undertakings, panchayats and civic bodies…"

At the same time "state government pensioners r family pensioner shall draw dearness relief at 3 percent of revised basic pension" from January 1 in 2021.

Manoj Chakraborty, one of the founder members of Trinamool Congress backed Paschimbanga Rajya Sarkari Karmachari Federation, said: "We welcome the move of the Chief Minister and it

is also a good decision to notify it for pensioners as well in

one go,"