Chaudhary said the amount saved has helped the government bridge the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The minister also mentioned that the decision to freeze three installments of DA/DR was made due to the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic.
The central government has clarified that it will not be “feasible” to release the 18-month love allowance (DA) backlog for staff, which has been halted during the Covid-19 pandemic. The government had withheld three installments of Love Allowance (DA) and Love Relief (DR) in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Since this move, central government employees and pensioners have been waiting for an update on the outstanding arrears.
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said Monday in Lok Sabha that the release of the DA and DR’s 18-month arrears was unworkable due to the negative financial impact of the pandemic.
“As the adverse financial impact of the 2020 pandemic and the funding of the social measures taken by the government had fiscal implications beyond fiscal 2020-21, backlogs of DA/DR primarily affecting the difficult fiscal 2020-21 are classified as non considered feasible. ‘ Chaudary said.
The minister also mentioned that the decision to freeze three installments of DA/DR was made due to the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic. It aims to ease the government’s financial burden, he said.
In 2021, while answering an inquiry in Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the freeze on DA/DRs had helped the government save around Rs. 34,402.
Chaudhary said the amount saved has helped the government bridge the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both the cost-of-living allowance and the cost-of-living relief are revised twice a year. The new interest rates will take effect on January 1st and July 1st. The last revision was in September 2022, when the DA was increased by 4% to 38%. DA is released to government employees, while DR is made available to central government pensioners to mitigate the effects of inflation.
While this clarification may put an end to speculation about the release of DA arrears, the center is expected to announce a 4% DA hike shortly. A similar increase in DR is also expected for retirees.
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