TRIPURA: Manik Saha, the chief minister of Tripura, said on Tuesday that the dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for state employees and pensioners will be hiked by 12% with effect from December 1.

With this,, the state government employees' DA increased from 8% to 20%.

"The decision will benefit a total of 1,04,600 regular employees and 80,800 pensioners. Also part-time employees will be eligible for the perk because their pay has nearly doubled," Saha stated at a press conference.

According to the chief minister, the government's plan to raise DA/DR by 12% will result in an increase of Rs 120 crore per month and Rs 1,440 crore annually.

The government has updated the wage structures to assist the thousands of employees and their families, despite the fact that there are resources shortfalls, according to Saha.

There has been criticism of the government's decision to not raise the DA for employees and the social pension for beneficiaries, according to deputy chief minister and finance portfolio holder Jishnu Dev Varma. The administration wants to help as many individuals as possible. By making the bold move, we hope to create a standard for state government personnel," he said.

The DyCM said in response to a question on how the additional load of Rs 1,440 crore per year will be handled, "This is an art of managing finance well under resource constraints. To best serve the public, a little bravery and a big heart are required.

On whether it will be seen as Election bonanza or New Year bonanza Jishnu Dev Varma said ''It is the perception of the people how they view it''.

Tripura assembly elections are scheduled for February of the following year.

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