BENGALURU: The Karnataka Government on Saturday enhanced Dearness Allowance (DA) from current 6.50% to 11.25% of basic salary. The move has come as a Deepavali gift to over 5.40 lakh state government employees a week ahead of the festival. The revised DA will be with effect from July 1, 2019. In January this year, the government had revised the DA from 3.47% to 6.5%.
“We are very happy with the decision and thank the government on behalf of all employees,” said State Government Employees Association Secretary Jagadish Gowda Patil. The employees had joined the government efforts to provide relief to people in flood-hit areas by contributing Rs 200 crore to the CM’s Relief Fund.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa also announced that the government has accepted Raghavendra Auradkar committee report on revising salaries of police personnel. Hardship allowance too has been increased by Rs 1,000 with effect from August 1. The CM termed it as a Deepavali gift.
The Auradkar committee on pay revision was constituted in June 2016. The government, which had accepted the report, issued a notification on July 16, 2019 stating that revised pay scales will be effective from August 1. The Chief Minister said the increase in hardship allowance will mean an additional outgo of Rs 10.70 crore a month and Rs 128.38 crore a year from the exchequer.
With the implementation of the Auradkar committee report, entry level salary for a police constable will increase from Rs 30,427 a month to Rs 34,267 (including all allowances), the Chief Minister stated.A police constable attached to Yelahanka traffic police station in Bengaluru said they are very happy with the government decision. On Saturday, police officials met the Chief Minister and felicitated him.