AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam on Friday demanded that the State government announce a 14% hike in dearness allowance (DA) for its employees and pensioners as a Deepavali gift.
He referred to the Union Government’s move to effect an increase of 3% over the existing rate of 28% of basic pay/pension to compensate for price rise, and said the difference between the DA rate for Union government employees and those of the State was 14 percentage points. He recalled that the DMK government had stated that it would increase the DA in April 2022, but had later decided to advance the period to January. It was “not acceptable” to suspend the DA rise after having made an electoral promise that the old pension scheme would be restored, he said.
Referring to Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi’s statement that the Public Works Department would continue to maintain the statue of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on the campus of the Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education, he said this was in response to his letter to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on October 16. He thanked the Chief Minister for the decision.
