On Monday, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik issued instructions to release the state government employees' outstanding 20% arrears partaking to salary revision under the 7th Pay Commission. The employees would now get the arrears along with their March salary.
“As many as 4 lakh employees will receive the arrears along with their March salary”, a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said. An additional Rs 850 crore has been earmarked in the 2021-22 supplementary budget for the purpose, it said.
The state government employees have already received 80 percent of the Pay Commission salary slab arrears, and the move to discharge the lingering dues will benefit nearly 4 lakh people.
It's important to note that the Odisha government accepted the 7th Pay Commission's recommendations and began implementing them in January 2016. As a result, the salary of government employees has been increased.
As per the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, it was decided to pay a 20-month increase in arrears between January 2014 and August 2018 in various installments.
As per the decision, 40 percent of the increased pay was cleared in 2016-17, 10 percent in 2019-20 and 30 percent in 2021-22. It is worth noting that pensioners have also received 100 percent of their salaries.
On the other hand, several media reports mention that the Modi government release the DA arrears for the central government employees and pensioners. If this happens, the central government employees and pensioners will get these arrears along with March salary as it marks the end of the financial year.
Also, there have been reports that the central government may increase the DA from 31% to 34% for its employees.
NOTE: This article is published to raise awareness among the Central Government Employees; some of whom may also belong to the agriculture sector.
