RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh government employees have expressed resentment over the 6 per cent hike in the dearness allowance (DA) announced by the state government and cited it as "insufficient" not even close to their expectation, claiming that it should have been raised at least by 12%.
The Congress-ruled government stated that with the hike in the DA, the employees will now be getting 28%. The employees federation said that if their demand is not met by August 22, they will be left with no option except to proceed on an indefinite strike.
According to the orders issued by the state finance department the employees received 22 percent DA under the 7th Pay Commission and 174% under the 6th Pay Commission since May 2022. After the revision, 6 percent and 15% hikes have been effected under the 7th and 6th Pay Commissions respectively, the statement added.
The staff will now get 28 percent and 189% DA from August 1. The hike that will benefit around 3.8 lakh government employees is likely to put an additional annual burden of Rs 2,160 crore on the state exchequer. The federation of state government officers and employees that staged a five-day agitation in July has sought hike in the DA and house rent allowance (HRA) among other demands.
“We demanded 34% DA and HRA as per the 7th Pay Commission scale but both these have not been met. Some of the suggestions were also ignored”, said Kamal Verma, convener of the employees federation.
The federation also alleged that the senior officials in the secretariat have also misguided the state government regarding their “genuine” demands.
The Chhattisgarh government had a day ago said it has increased the dearness allowance (DA) for its employees, effective from August 1, 2022, according to an official notification.