Tamil Nadu CM O Panneerselvam announces 7 per cent hike in dearness allowance of govt employees

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Thursday announced a Dearness Allowance hike of seven percent for government employees and pensioners effective July one this year.

Increasing the DA to 132 per cent from the present 125 per cent would benefit 18 lakh government employees, pensioners and family pensioners and it would entail an approximate additional annual burden of Rs.1,833.33 crore to the state, he said in release here.

The increase in DA for the July 1 to November 30 period will be remitted in lumpsum in the bank accounts of employees, he said, adding the hike from the current month will be paid together with their salaries.

Following the hike in DA for Union government employees, Panneerselvam said government employees would get a hike ranging between Rs 427 and Rs 5,390, pensioners and family pensioners would get an increase from Rs 214 to Rs.2,695.

He said the hike would also be applicable to municipal bodies, those working in State-aided educational institutions, teachers, village assistants, Anganwadi and nutritional meal programme staffers.

On the hike, he said he was following the footsteps of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in ensuring the welfare of government employees as they delivered the State’s welfare schemes to the people.