Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday announced a 3% increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees and pensioners. With this decision, the DA rate will increase from the existing 50% to 53%.
The announcement will benefit around 4 lakh government employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners across Punjab. The increased DA will be released in December and paid along with the November salaries and pensions. According to Mann, the decision will put an additional financial burden of Rs 330 crore on the state government.
With the latest hike, Punjab government employees and pensioners will receive 53% DA, while Central Government employees are currently getting 63%.
Addressing the media, Mann said that when the Aam Aadmi Party government assumed office, the DA rate stood at 28%. He said it had now been increased to 53%.
The Chief Minister also pointed out that the government had increased DA by 11 percentage points over the past two months, involving a total financial expenditure of Rs 3,988 crore.
The announcement comes at a time when government employee unions have been demanding the release of pending DA instalments. Employee unions have also announced plans to stage a dharna from November 13 if their demands are not addressed.
Mann said government employees were the backbone of the administration and that the government's doors remained open for discussions on their demands.
During the interaction, the CM also spoke about employment in Punjab. He claimed that the state government had provided 71,777 government jobs so far, while another 600 appointments would be made shortly.
Responding to questions about Punjab's financial condition, Mann said his government had never claimed that the state treasury was empty. He also took a dig at a former Finance Minister over his repeated statements about the state's financial position.
On the recent exit of AAP MLAs and their joining the BJP, Mann said political representatives should remain committed to their parties. He also commented on the Enforcement Directorate searches in Punjab, including those linked to AAP MLA Dr Amandeep Kaur in Moga.
Mann said the presence of central investigating agencies in Punjab indicated that elections were approaching. He added that raids might take place but claimed that nothing would be found.
