Relief for government employees, pensioners; govt announces two percent DA and DR hike

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government has announced a two per cent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners, bringing relief to thousands of beneficiaries. The revised DA and DR will be paid along with the salaries and pensions to be disbursed on November 1, the government said.

The two per cent hike is expected to provide temporary relief to employees and pensioners, who have been expressing dissatisfaction over the delay in decisions on issues, including salary revision, since the new government assumed office. The arrears of DA and DR from previous periods are also yet to be cleared. It is against this backdrop that the government has announced the two per cent increase. The additional financial burden on the government due to the hike will be around Rs 96 crore every month. With the latest revision, the DA will increase to seven per cent.