Agartala, Oct 30: Ahead of the Diwali celebration, the State government on Wednesday announced a 5 per cent hike in  Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for its employees and pensioners. The announcement will become effective from November 1, 2024. Transport and Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury announced the decision while addressing a press conference in Agartala today.

"The State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, approved this 5 per cent DA increase as a Deepavali gift for government employees," Chowdhury said.

The Minister explained that several DA hike options ranging from 3 to 5 per cent were considered in the State Cabinet meeting. However, the Chief Minister stressed reducing the disparity between the DA rates of the State and Central governments, leading to the 5 per cent increase.

Chowdhury highlighted the recent 3 percent DA hike by the Union Government, which raised its DA total to 53 percent, compared to the State's previous rate of 25 percent. With the new 5 percent increase, the State’s DA now stands at 30 percent. The gap with Central DA has narrowed down to 23 per cent.

He asserted that the government would remain committed to further narrowing the gap between the State and Central DA rates.

The 5% DA hike is estimated to cost the state government an additional Rs 500 crore, Chowdhury told the media.