7th Pay Commission: The Chhattisgarh government has declared a 4% increase in the Dearness Allowance for state employees
Raipur: With the Lok Sabha elections just around the corner, Vishnu Deo Sai, the chief minister of Chhattisgarh, has unveiled a slew of fresh initiatives. Among these is great news for the state government employees of the state. The Chhattisgarh government has declared a 4% increase in the Dearness Allowance for government staff at the state level. Clearly, these initiatives are part of a larger plan in the lead-up to the Lok Sabha election.
Addressing a press conference here, Sai also announced the formation of a five-member committee to address the demands and grievances of contractual and other state government employees.
“We have decided to increase the DA by four per cent under the Seventh Pay Commission for state government employees and also to hike the Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners by four per cent,” he said.
The decision will benefit around 3.90 lakh state government employees and 1.20 lakh pensioners. The hike will be effective on March 1 this year, Sai added. With this increase, the DA under the Seventh Pay Commission will reach 46 per cent, and 230 per cent under the Sixth Pay Commission. The hike will put an additional burden of Rs 816 crore per year on the exchequer, officials said.
The officers and employees of the state will also be given the last installment of arrears under the Seventh Pay Commission, Sai said. The CM said that his party had promised (ahead of the assembly polls last year) to address the demands and grievances of contractual and other employees, and for this purpose a committee headed by Principal Secretary, Panchayat and Rural Development Niharika Barik has been constituted.
“The five-member committee will review the demands and issues of the employees, and after holding discussions with the representatives of various employee unions, it will submit its suggestions to the government,” he said.
Chhattisgarh Government Forms Panel To Address Grievances of Contract staff
The representatives of employees’ unions will also be accommodated in the committee, he said.
Another committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the state’s Home Secretary to review the cases lodged against journalists during the previous Congress government, Sai said.
“There were complaints that false cases were lodged against journalists and people linked to the media fraternity. The committee will review these cases and ensure justice for them. Journalists will also be appointed to this committee,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)