Agartala, March 16 Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha announced on Monday a 5 per cent increase in dearness allowance for state government employees, bringing the total DA to 41 per cent.
Shortly after Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy concluded his budget speech, Saha announced that the increase would be applicable from April 1 for government employees and pensioners.
The chief minister said that 1,02,563 regular employees and 81,019 pensioners would receive the DA benefits.
"The government will spend an additional Rs 500 crore annually to provide 5 per cent DA to the government workforce. We are continuously trying to increase the DA for employees to narrow the gap with their counterparts in the central government," he said.
Currently, the Centre provides 58 per cent DA to government employees.
Meanwhile, senior Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman criticised the CM for announcing the DA hike after the finance minister's budget speech.
"We are happy that the government declared a 5 per cent hike in DA for employees, but the way the chief minister made the announcement is against the spirit of assembly proceedings. The finance minister could have mentioned it in his budget speech," he said.
Responding to a question, Pranajit Singha Roy said that around Rs 15,000 crore would be spent to meet salaries and pensions from a total budget of Rs 34,212.31 crore for 2026-27.