The central government has made it clear that DA arrears withheld from January 2020 to June 2021 will not be released as of now, according to reports. The central government had held back three instalments of DA and DR for January 1, 2020; July 1, 2020; and January 1, 2021, in view of the unprecedented situation which arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dearness allowance is given to government employees, while the dearness relief is for pensioners.
The DA and DR are revised twice a year — January and July. In a written reply to a query in the Rajya Sabha in August last year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the holding back of DA and DR saved “approximately Rs 34,402 crore”. The freeze was removed in July 2021, and the DA and DR allowances increased three times since then.
Recently, during the 32nd meeting of standing committee of voluntary agencies for review and rationalisation of pension rules held under the chairmanship of Union Minister for Pensioners Welfare Jitendra Singh, a representative of the Department of Expenditure (DoE) specified that the amount of DAs and DRs that had been frozen would not be restored, according to a media report.
Recent Hikes in DA and DR
Last month, the Union Cabinet last month approved to increase 3 per cent in dearness allowance (DA) under the 7th Pay Commission, thus taking the DA to 34 per cent of the basic income. Over 50 lakh government employees and 65 lakh pensioners are getting profit from this move.
“The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to release an additional instalment of dearness allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners w.e.f. January 1, 2022, representing an increase of 3 per cent over the existing rate of 31 per cent of the basic pay/ pension, to compensate for price rise,” said the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement.
The government recently hiked the DA and DR. Since July 2021 when the freeze was lifted, DA and DR have seen three hikes and have almost doubled.
In July 2021, the Centre had increased the DA and DR for the central government employees and pensioners, respectively, to 28 per cent from 17 per cent after a long pause. Again in October 2021, the central government employees witnessed a jump of 3 per cent in Dearness Allowance. Then, the DA for the central government employees rose to 31 per cent, effective from July 2021. Now, from January 2022, DA and DR will be paid to the salaried at a rate of 34 per cent, increasing from the earlier rate of 31 per cent.
Recently, the central government has also reportedly turned down the pensioners’ request to release the dearness relief (DR) that was held during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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