Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the increase will benefit approximately 8 lakh people and will be paid in December.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced a 3 per cent increase in dearness allowance (DA) for state government employees and pensioners on Wednesday. The decision, described by Mann as a Diwali gift, will benefit around 8 lakh people, according to reports by Moneycontrol and India TV.
The enhanced DA will be released in December and paid alongside November salaries and pensions, according to The Tribune. This latest instalment brings the total DA rate to 53 per cent, up from the 28 per cent rate present when the government took office.
Mann stated that the government has raised the DA rate by 11 percentage points within two months. The Tribune reported that the hike will involve an additional expenditure of Rs 330 crore.
Regarding employment, Mann said the state has provided 71,777 government jobs on a merit basis and mentioned that 600 more appointments would be made soon. He added that the government remains open to discussing employee demands.
Addressing recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on Moga MLA Amandeep Kaur Arora, Mann suggested that central agency activity indicates approaching elections. He expressed confidence that the raids would yield no findings and targeted the BJP government in his remarks.
On the issue of stubble burning, Mann said Punjab has no role in the pollution affecting the national capital. He noted that Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa is aware of this fact.
