The Karnataka government on Tuesday announced a 3.75 per cent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees. The DA has been increased to 42.5 per cent from the existing 38.75 per cent. The move comes ahead of Lok Sabha polls.
Also Read – Karnataka government announces 3.75 per cent DA hike to its employees
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said that for those employees on central pay scale, the DA has been increased to 50 per cent from the existing 46 per cent. He said, “We have approved a revision of the Dearness Allowance to state government employees from 38.75% to 42.5%. For those on central pay scales, it’s up from 46% to 50%.” The new hike will also apply to all retired employees drawing their monthly pension amount.
The chief minister also asserted that the new hike would cost the state government ₹1792.71 crore annually. “This change represents a significant financial commitment of Rs. 1792.71 crores every year, reaffirming our dedication to our employees,” he added
This is the second time when the Siddaramaia government has increased the DA for employees. In October last year, the government revised the dearness allowance from the existing 35 per cent to 38.75 per cent. The government then also announced a hike of four per cent in their DA for the lecturers on UGC/AICTE/ICAR scale, and the judicial officers (central pay scale).
During the previous Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government, the state government employees held a massive protest demanding an increase in their pay scales and claimed that the hike was not given from the pandemic days.
They had even halted all operations for a day as a mark of protest again. In March last year, the erstwhile BJP government offered an interim hike in basic salary of up to 17%, after it received backlash from the employee unions. It also then announced setting up a committee to study the feasibility of reverting to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).
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