The Suvendu Adhikari government in West Bengal has announced a significant 20-percentage-point rise in dearness allowance (DA) for state government employees. The state Finance Minister, Swapan Dasgupta, revealed that the current DA rate of 18 percent would be boosted by an additional 20 percentage points, bringing it to a total of 38 percent. This revised DA rate is set to be effective from October 1.
Despite this increase, West Bengal government employees’ DA will still lag behind that of central government employees, who presently receive DA at a rate of 60 percent. The gap between the DA rates of the two groups will remain at 22 percentage points. The central government had earlier raised its DA rate from 58 percent to 60 percent, starting from January this year.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari expressed approval of the proposal, stating that the additional 20 percent DA would be granted from the month of Durga Puja in October, with further increments to follow gradually. The previous Trinamool Congress government faced protests from some state employees over DA disparities with central government employees and pending arrears.
The BJP-led government’s first Budget aims to address these concerns by increasing DA and initiating the payment of outstanding arrears. Swapan Dasgupta emphasized the vital role played by state government employees, semi-government employees, teachers, and non-teaching staff in implementing government policies. The announcement of a 20 percent dearness allowance increase, on top of the existing 18 percent, is a recognition of their contributions.
Employee representatives have welcomed the move, with individuals like Debashis Shil appreciating the unprecedented increase from 18 to 38 percent in DA. Swapan Mandal, General Secretary of the Bengali Teachers and Education Workers’ Association, expressed overall satisfaction with the 20 percent DA rise but hoped for the remaining 22 percent to be settled by December.
