Festive offer: DA hike, med bills payment, early salary

On the eve of Dasehra, Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced a 4 per cent hike in dearness allowance, effective from January 1, 2023, for the state government employees and pensioners, putting an additional burden of Rs 600 crore per annum on the exchequer.

The Chief Minister also said pending medical bills of government employees and arrears of pensioners over 75 years of age would be cleared with immediate effect. The Class-IV employees would get Rs 20,000 instalment of their arrears this fiscal year.

Sukhu Allays fears of crisis

• Himachal CM said the financial condition of the state was fine, and the treasury was still not in overdraft
• The payment to employees, including DA and arrears, was testimony to the fact that there’s no financial crunch, he added

To bring more cheer this festive season, the state government also decided to pay the salary and pension on October 28. “In view of Diwali, the government has decided to pay the salary and pension for the month of October in October itself,” the Chief Minister said. Over the past couple of months, the government has been disbursing salary and pension on the 5th and 9th, respectively, of every month to save Rs 3 crore interest.

Addressing a press conference here this evening, the Chief Minister said that the financial condition of the state was fine. “We are only trying to ensure fiscal prudence to make our state self-reliant and the most prosperous by 2031,” the Chief Minister said.Sukhu said the treasury was still not in overdraft and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would be aware of it. “The BJP has left no stone unturned in spreading misinformation about the state’s fiscal health. But the payment to employees, including DA and arrears, is testimony to the fact that there’s no financial crunch and the government is committed to addressing the grievances of its employees,” the CM said. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said the Central government had made an advance payment of Rs 1,479 crore to the state from its share of central taxes on Thursday.