Suvendu Adhikari announces 20 per cent DA, early October salary for Bengal employees

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday announced that state government employees will receive an additional 20 per cent dearness allowance (DA) from October and that their October salaries will be paid before the Durga Puja festivities.

Adhikari also said his government is committed to reducing the DA gap between central and state government employees and implementing the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission, which was constituted a few days ago.

Addressing a programme at the West Bengal Police headquarters, Bhavani Bhavan, Adhikari said, “I have asked the finance secretary and the finance minister to ensure that October salaries are released before Durga Puja. I have also directed them to release the additional 20 per cent dearness allowance during the Puja month.”

State government employees currently receive their salaries on the last working day of each month. If implemented, the decision will allow them to receive their October salaries well before Durga Puja, which will be held in the middle of October this year.

Referring to his government’s budget announcement, the chief minister said the additional 20 per cent DA would come into effect from October.

“There is a 42 per cent DA gap between the Centre and the state. We cannot bridge that gap overnight; it will take time,” he said.

Adhikari said officers below the IPS rank had not received adequate attention in the past and added that police personnel, like other state government employees, had faced financial hardship over the years.

He said many states had revised the pay structure of their employees, but that had not happened in West Bengal.

“You have not received the benefits of the Seventh Pay Commission. We have already constituted the commission, and once it submits its report in the next few months, we will implement its recommendations,” he said.