Uttarakhand DA Hike:  In a big announcement for government employees, the Uttarakhand government on Wednesday announced a hike in their dearness allowance (DA) and bonuses for the Diwali festival. The DA has been raised by 3 per cent. Employees receiving the seventh pay commission will now receive a dearness allowance of 53 per cent instead of the previous 50 per cent.

Additionally, the government has issued orders to provide a one-time ad-hoc bonus of Rs 6,908 to employees with a grade pay of up to Rs 4,800.

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Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has approved this ahead of Diwali. Earlier, directives were also issued to ensure that the salaries for October were released before the usual schedule in view of the festival.

On Tuesday, Finance Secretary Deepak Jawalkar announced the orders for the increase in dearness allowance. The revised DA will be effective from July 1, and the pending amount for the increased allowance from July 1 to September 30 will be paid in cash. Starting October 1, the increased allowance will be integrated into regular salaries.

The payment of the increased dearness allowance will impose an annual expenditure burden of approximately Rs 400 crore on the government treasury. The monthly salaries of employees will increase by Rs 1,000 to Rs 8,000.

Moreover, Finance Secretary Deepak Jawalkar has issued additional orders to provide ad-hoc bonuses for the fiscal year 2023-24 to non-gazetted employees, staff of aided educational institutions, local bodies, district panchayats, and daily wage employees.

The maximum limit for the ad-hoc bonus is set at Rs 7,000, with a maximum of Rs 6,908 available for 30 days of work. Eligible employees must have been in service on March 31, 2024, and have completed a minimum of six months of continuous service.

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Employees with service ranging from six months to one year will receive bonuses proportionate to their length of service. Daily wage employees who have worked at least 240 days each year over the past three years will be entitled to a bonus of Rs 1,184. Employees found guilty of departmental disciplinary action or criminal cases will not be eligible for the bonus. However, employees reinstated after suspension will qualify for the bonus.