The Telangana government has approved release of two dearness allowance and dearness relief installments for state employees and pensioners across cadres. According to reports from Telangana Tribune, the state has approved release of two DA and DR revisions of 3.64% and 2.73% for government employees and pensioners, set to be paid with the October salary to be disbursed on 1 November this year. This comes after assurance from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to employee unions at a recent meeting. The latest developments show that the total increase is more than 6% when calculated from January 2024 and July 2024, providing employees with a significant salary enhancement.
The two installments will add about ₹3,057 crore a year to the State's expenditure, as reported by Telangana Tribune. The 3.64% instalment accounts for ₹1,747 crore, while the 2.73% instalment is worth ₹1,310 crore. The amount is separate from DA payments for employees drawing UGC and AICTE pay scales, local body staff and other employee categories. The release is a partial payment of the 15.43% in DA instalments pending since the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government. Employees under the 2020 pay scale will see their DA increase from 33.67% to 37.31% starting January 2024, further rising to 40.04% from July 2024, while those on the 2015 pay scale will see their DA climb from 73.34% to 78.06% initially, then to 81.72% from July 2024.
According to reports from Telangana Tribune, Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Principal Secretary at the state Finance Department, confirmed that DA arrears would be credited to employees' General Provident Fund (GPF) accounts. For employees due to retire on or before 31 January 2027, they will receive their arrears in 33 equal monthly instalments. For those covered by the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), 10% of their DA arrears for the period between January 2024 to September 2026 will be credited to their PRAN accounts, along with the government's share. The remaining 90% will be paid in 33 equal monthly instalments from November 1. The arrears covering July 2024 through September 2026 will be paid out in 27 installments.
For pensioners, the revised DR rates will be paid in 33 equal monthly installments, starting with the October pension, to be paid on 1 November 2026, as reported by Telangana Tribune. The release applies to all categories of employees and pensioners, providing comprehensive coverage across the state's workforce. The benefits of the DA hike will not be limited to general government employees, with employees on UGC and AICTE pay scales also benefiting. Apart from this, many other categories including employees of district and divisional councils, employees working on regular pay scale in municipal bodies and full-time contingent employees will also get the benefit of these DA installments.
