Despite Centre freeze, Tripura okays 3% additional DA for employees

AGARTALA: Despite the Central Government has freezed the dearness allowance (DA) for more than a year, the BJP-led government in Tripura on Thursday announced an additional three per cent DA for its 1,90,504 employees and pension holders, said a Minister.

Tripura's Law and Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said that no State government except West Bengal has given the DA due to the COVID-19 induced financial crisis.

''The Central government, since January last year to July this year, had freezed the DA for the government employees, but the Tripura government has on Thursday in the Cabinet meeting taken the courageous steps to give the DA to its employees,'' Nath, spokesman of the State government, told the media.

He said: ''Despite the State government's financial crunch, the government has released additional three per cent of DA for the employees and pensioners.''

To provide the additional DA, the extra annual spending from the government exchequer would be Rs 320 crore.

''Over 1,90,504 government employees and pension holders including the daily rated, part time, fixed pay workers would get the new installments of DA with effect from March 1,'' said the Minister.

State government employees and pensioners had long been demanding that their DA be equal to that of Central government employees. (IANS)

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