Tripura announces 5% dearness allowance for government employees

The Tripura Government has announced a 5 per cent dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for its 1.88 lakh employees and pensioners on the occasion of Diwali. The increase will take effect from November 1.

Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said on Wednesday that the decision to support the state government employees was made despite ongoing challenges.

“Our Government has been prioritising the well-being of our workforce. We have decided to release 5 per cent DA and DR to our employees and pensioners, resulting in an additional expenditure of Rs 500 crore from the state exchequer,” he said.

This move will benefit over 1.6 lakh government employees and 82,000 pensioners. The new DA will raise the total dearness allowance for state government employees to 30 per cent.

The BJP government, which came to power in March 2018, implemented the 7th Central Pay Commission’s recommendations from October 1, 2018. While the Left Front government traditionally released DA twice a year, the current BJP government has done so in several phases, with the last increase occurring in March this year, when a 5 per cent DA and DR were announced. This reduced the gap in DA between central and state government employees from 26 per cent to 21 per cent.

In the past two years, the Government has sanctioned a 27 per cent DA. With the additional 5 per cent, state government employees now receive 30 per cent DA compared to the 53 per cent that central government employees and pensioners get.

Chief Minister Manik Saha has also announced increases in allowances for Tripura State Rifles (TSR) personnel, raising the monthly ration money from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 and revising the uniform grant from Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per annum.