Cabinet Likely To Clear Dearness Allowance Dues Today: Sources

In what could be good news for Central Government employees and pensioners, the Union Cabinet is likely to clear the proposal of giving them Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) hike with effect from July 1, 2021.

Sources in the know informed that this is likely to be given prospectively. It could be disbursed from September this year, they added.

The Union Cabinet is meeting today afternoon. This is the second meeting of the newly reshuffled Cabinet in less than a week.

Dearness Allowance has been kept at 28 per cent, which is an increase from the existing 17 per cent, sources said. This will give a financial boost to lakhs of central government employees and pensioners and enhance their spending ahead of the forthcoming festival season.

Last week, the Joint Council Machinery for Central Government Employees (JCM) which is headed by the Cabinet Secretary, is learnt to have cleared the proposal for hiking DA and DR. The unions had specifically sought prospective payment of DA and DR dues from the Centre, sources added further.

The proposal is also learnt to have been cleared during a meeting held on June 26 between Finance Ministry and officials of the Department of Personnel and Training.

The JCM consists of representatives of recognised Central Government employees union as well as senior Central Government officials.

The DA and DR instalments are due for four periods namely January 1, 2020, July 1, 2020, January 1, 2021 and July 1, 2021.

Hit by the Coronavirus pandemic, the Centre had last year on April 23, 2020, decided to freeze DA and DR with effect from January 1, 2020 till July 2021, with the aim of saving funds to combat the medical emergency which continues to affect the nation.