The Madhya Pradesh government under the leadership of CM Mohan Yadav is actually preparing to give huge bonus to its employees just before Diwali. In a bid to meet the sustained demand for an enhancement of the Dearness Allowance (DA), the state is expecting to offer an enhanced 18 percent subsequently to ease the burden of thousands of employees.
A Big Boost for State Employees
Every worker in MP is rejoicing, especially more than 7 lakh government employees of the state as the government is planning to enhance the cost of updated DA by as much as 18%. This hike is likely to help bring down the DA of employees in the state establishments closer to those of the central government. As per the state government budget for the financial year 2024-25, the funds are allocated corresponding to the DA of 64%.
Good News for Contractual Workers as Well
The state’s finance department has already begun the process of preparing the annual budget and it uses the technique known as zero based budgeting. According the ministry of finance, all departmental budget proposals should be made in accordance with the current employees and the estimated new employees for the next financial year. Contract workers too might get a 4% raise besides the normal and full time employees in the outfit.
Explaining the DA Gap Between Central and State Employees
Presently, the Madhya Pradesh employees get a DA of 46% which is 4% less than the 50% to the Central government employees. The gap has meant that state employees are losing up to Rs 5,640 monthly in the process. Several employees’ unions have been continuously calling on the state government to close this gap, and it appears the government has started doing so after increasing the new 18% DA hike.
What is the purpose of DA?
Dearness Allowance is an indispensable component of salary structure of a government employee and expected to nullify effect of inflation. It is provided in addition to the basic wage, and is subject to alteration twice a year. Both central and state governments give DA to its employees and pensioners to prevent their purchasing power get wiped out with cost inflationary measures. At present, the central government offers a DA of 50%, and Madhya Pradesh has offered only 46%.