Gujarat CM announces 3% hike in Dearness Allowance for state govt employees

Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Monday announced a three per cent hike in the dearness allowance (DA) for state government employees under the 7th Pay Commission, with retrospective effect from January 1, 2022.Speaking after hoisting the national flag at Modasa in Aravalli district during a state-level function to mark the country’s 76th Independence Day, chief minister Patel said that the dearness allowance hike will benefit some 9.38 lakh employees of the Gujarat government, panchayat service and pensioners.With this, the Gujarat government’s financial burden will go up by about ₹1,400 crore annually, PTI quoted the chief minister.Patel also announced an expansion of welfare schemes under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). He said that 71 lakh NFSA card holders from all 250 talukas of Gujarat will be given one kg gram (pulses) per card per month at a concessional rate.The existing criteria of income limit per month for inclusion under the NFSA has been increased from ₹10,000 to ₹15,000, the chief minister added.”It is our responsibility to keep reaching new heights of safety and peace in a peaceful, developing and safe Gujarat and establish new records of all-inclusive development. Let us take a pledge to make this festival of Independence as the opportunity to make national interest as paramount in our hearts and minds,” Bhupendra Patel said during the Independence Day function in the Aravalli district.Patel also made some other announcements for the state’s welfare during the function.He said a Real-Time Coastal Water Monitoring System will be used for water quality testing of the estuaries of rivers flowing into the Gulf of Khambhat under the Encore Project with the assistance of the World Bank, PTI further reported.Electric buses will be put into operation on iconic routes like Dwarka, Ambaji and Statue of Unity, Patel said, adding ₹367 crore will be invested to run 1,200 new BS-6 compliant buses for providing better services to citizens.Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) will be installed at 50 bus stations in Gujarat, the chief minister said.He also added that ₹three crore has been allocated for a 50-bed district-level hospital with a trauma centre facility in Ektanagar-Kevadia Colony near the Statue of Unity in the Narmada district.(With agency inputs)