Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy announced in the Legislative Assembly today that the state government is working to bridge the gap in Dearness Allowance (DA) for its employees. In response to a notice raised by Congress MLA Gopal Roy during the mention session, Minister Roy shared that efforts are being made to gradually reduce the DA gap while keeping the state’s financial resources in mind.
He emphasized that the government is also focused on ensuring regular promotions for employees after completing all necessary legal processes. A permanent mechanism for granting promotions is expected to be introduced soon. Minister Roy highlighted that the state government has already increased the fitment factor from 2.25 to 2.57 in line with the Central Government’s 7th Pay Commission, resulting in a 14.22% increase in employees’ basic pay that benefits them with every DA hike.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state government announced Dearness Relief (DR) for employees and pensioners, as well as introduced cash in lieu of LTC. Additionally, the policy to regularize fixed-pay employees has been revised, allowing employees to become eligible for regularization after five years of continuous service across multiple posts.
Minister Roy also mentioned that promotions were previously stalled due to legal complications, but the introduction of ad-hoc promotions by the current government has provided employees with promotional benefits. A policy is being developed to extend the benefits of the Chief Minister’s Jan Arogya Yojana to all government employees.
Furthermore, the retirement age of TSR jawans has been increased from 58 to 60 years, and ration money and dress allowance for TSR and police personnel have been raised. The monthly pension of Home Guards has been tripled, and festival advance for employees has been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000, with the festival grant being tripled compared to 2018.
Overall, the Tripura state government is taking steps to improve the welfare and benefits of its employees, aiming to create a more equitable and supportive work environment for all.
