Tripura Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha on Tuesday announced a 3 per cent hike in Dearness Allowance (DA) for government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners and retired employees, taking the total DA/DR to 44 per cent.
Addressing a press conference at the Civil Secretariat after a Cabinet meeting, Dr Saha said the revised DA and DR would be effective from October 1, 2026
"The decision will entail an additional expenditure of around Rs 300 crore annually, while the state government will spend approximately Rs 125 crore during the current financial year", said Dr Saha.
The Chief Minister also announced an enhancement of the House Rent Allowance (HRA
"Under the revised provision, government employees will receive 10 per cent HRA of their basic pay, subject to a maximum of Rs 10,000 per month, with effect from October 1", said Dr Saha.
He said the latest decisions were part of the state government's continued efforts to improve the welfare of government employees and pensioners despite Tripura's limited financial resources.
The Chief Minister further said that the government believed that employees played a crucial role in running the administration, implementing government decisions and schemes, and delivering services to the people.
“When our government came to power in 2018, we had promised the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, and we fulfilled that commitment. The fitment factor was increased, resulting in a 14.22 per cent increase in basic pay,” Dr Saha said.
He said the government had taken several steps since 2018 to enhance DA and DR. With the latest 3 per cent increase, the DA/DR would now stand at 44 per cent.
Dr Saha said the government was also concerned about the gap in DA between state and Central government employees. While Central government employees are currently receiving around 60 per cent DA, the state government's rate would now be 44 per cent, leaving a gap of around 16 percentage points.
“We are concerned about this gap and are working gradually to reduce it,” the Chief Minister said.
Referring to the 8th Pay Commission, Dr Saha said the Central government had already initiated the process, while the state government was also examining the matter.
He further highlighted the government's 2018 recruitment policy, under which 33 per cent reservation was provided for women in direct government recruitment.
Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy and senior officials of the Finance Department were also present at the press conference.
