DA at 6% from March 1: Govt notification

Kolkata: The Bengal government issued a notification for the grant of Dearness Allowance (DA) to the employees of statutory bodies, government undertakings, Panchayats, including Panchayat karmee, urban local bodies, the teaching and non-teaching employees of government-aided educational institutions, pensioners, and family pensioners at the rate of six per cent of the basic pay with effect from March 1.

The six per cent in DA is the total of the three per cent increase announced in December 2020 (meant for January 1, 2021 implementation) and a similar raise declared recently in the state Assembly on February 15, soon after tabling of the state Budget. The notification follows the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission.

“The calculation of DA shall be made taking into account the revised basic pay and non-practising allowance if any, but it shall not include any other type of pay,” the notification read.

“The DA will also be admissible to teaching and non-teaching staff of government-aided institutes as well as to staff of the local bodies. It will be the responsibility of the pension disbursing authority to calculate the quantum of dearness relief on revised pension and family pension payable to each individual case,” the notification stated.

There will be a further ad-hoc increase in the daily rate of wages by Rs 17 from March 1, for the daily rated workers under the government whose wages are not regulated by any statutory provisions like the minimum wages act, etc.

Some organisations of state government employees have been agitating seeking DA parity with the Centre which they claim is still 32 per cent short of the DA offered by the Central government to its staff.