7th Pay Commission: Himachal Hikes DA by 3% For State Employees, Here’s How Much Salary to Increase

7th Pay Commission: The pensioners and Himachal Pradesh government employees will now receive a 34 per cent DA, which was 31 per cent earlier.

7th Pay Commission: Bringing cheers to lakhs of state government employees, the Himachal Pradesh government on Saturday announced 3% hike in Dearness Allowance for them. This was announced by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on the occasion of the 76th Himachal Day.

The pensioners and state government employees will now receive a 34 per cent DA, which was 31 per cent earlier.

2.15 lakh employees to be benefitted

The decision will benefit around 2.15 lakh employees and 1.90 lakh pensioners. It will also put an additional burden of about Rs 500 crore on the state’s exchequer, the state government said in a statement.

Centre hikes DA by 4%

The development comes after the Centre recently increased the DA of central government employees and pensioners by 4% to 42% due from January 1, 2023. Notably, the government had long been demanding to increase the DA amid high inflation and shooting prices of food and fuel.

Apart from the DA hike, the state government also announced a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 to all 9,000 women of Spiti above the age of 18 years from June 2023 in the second phase as promised in the Congress manifesto.

Har Ghar Lakshmi, Nari Samman Nidhi

Under the initiative called ‘Har Ghar Lakshmi, Nari Samman Nidhi’, the plan is to empower women in the region.

Besides, Sukhu also announced a 50-bed Community Health Centre (CHC) and a college in Kaza. He said that the state government would take up the issue of developing an airstrip at Rangrik in Spiti Valley with the Defence Ministry.

He said that a road will also be constructed from Atargu to Mud in Pin Valley for Rs 34 crore, as part of the third phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

Additionally, the government would also prioritise the construction of a road to connect Bhawa with Mud, which will be the world’s highest altitude road, Sukhu said, adding that a star-gazing observatory would be set up in the Langza, the fossil village of Spiti valley, with the assistance of the Union government.