UP Govt hikes DA from 7% to 28% for its employees, pensioners

The 16 lakh Uttar Pradesh government employees and 12 lakh pensioners have got a bonanza with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directing the finance department to immediately chalk out a plan to hike dearness allowance (DA). The increase will be in tune with the Centre’s decision announced earlier this month.

It may be mentioned that revision in DA didn’t happen in 2020 owing to the financial strain the state exchequer faced because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Centre announced revision of DA from 17 per cent to 28 per cent of the basic salary on July 14. The state will follow suit and the CM has asked the finance department to immediately draw up a proposal on this, so that the change can be implemented at the earliest,” a senior government official reportedly.

The new DA rates become effective from July 1

“The decision was taken as there had been a fall in the state’s revenue due to Covid-19. The government needed funds for Covid-19 prevention, management, treatment and relief work. UP would have increased DA by 4 per cent from January 1, 2020, as decided by the Centre, but had to put the decision on hold due to the pandemic,” the official said.

“We cannot say if and by how much the DA would have been revised in July 2020 and January 2021. Presuming that it would have been revised by 4 per cent on both occasions, it is being estimated that the state government would have saved around Rs 7,000 crore in a year,” the official said.