Rajasthan govt announces DA hike: CM Bhajanlal Sharma hikes dearness allowance by 4%; cuts VAT on petrol, diesel by 2%

Rajasthan DA hike: Soon after the Central Government hiked dearness allowance by 4 per cent to take it to 50 per cent, the Rajasthan government has also followed suit by hiking dearness allowance of employees and pensioners by 4 per cent.

The DA hike announcement was made by Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma on Thursday.

As per the chief minister, the DA hike will benefit 8 lakh employees and 4 lakh 40 thousand pensioners

Apart from this, the state government has also cut VAT on petrol, diesel by 2 per cent. This is added bonanza for Rajasthan residents as the Central Government has also announced a price cut of Rs 2 in the price of petrol and diesel from Friday. Also Read - Petrol and Diesel prices reduced by Rs 2 per litres 

The CM wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): "Everyone's support, everyone's development, everyone's trust...Our government, dedicated to good governance, has increased the dearness allowance of state employees by 4%, this will benefit 8 lakh employees and 4 lakh 40 thousand pensioners."

"Our state employees, symbols of hard work, will benefit from this decision. 'Modi ji's guarantee' is a guarantee of the welfare of the people and our government is continuously moving forward on this path of public service," he added.

सबका साथ, सबका विकास, सबका विश्वास...

सुशासन को समर्पित हमारी सरकार ने राज्य कर्मचारियों का 4% महंगाई भत्ता बढ़ाया है, इससे 8 लाख कर्मचारियों को और 4 लाख 40 हजार पेंशनर्स को लाभ मिलेगा।

इस निर्णय से कर्मठता के प्रतीक हमारे प्रदेश कर्मचारी लाभान्वित होंगे। 'मोदी जी की गारंटी',…

— Bhajanlal Sharma (Modi Ka Parivar) (@BhajanlalBjp) March 14, 2024

The decisions were taken in the state cabinet meeting held in Jaipur on Thursday evening.

Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said, "There were discrepancies regarding the prices of diesel and petrol in Rajasthan. We have removed this anomaly and have reduced the VAT rate by two per cent." He said that due to two per cent reduction in VAT on petroleum products and steps taken by oil marketing companies, the prices of petrol and diesel will come down in the state.

The Chief Minister said that the reduced prices on petrol and diesel will be applicable from 6 am on Friday, March 15. This will put a burden of approximately Rs 1500 crore on the state government.

"We have removed the anomalies and also made diesel and petrol cheaper." Similarly, the cabinet decided to increase the dearness allowance of state employees by 4 percentage points.

Sharma said, "In line with the central government employees, we have increased the dearness allowance by four per cent. 50 per cent dearness allowance will be payable from January 1, 2024." 

"Earlier, 46 per cent dearness allowance was being given to the state government employees. We have increased it by four per cent to 50 per cent." 
About eight lakh employees and 4.40 lakh pensioners will benefit from the decision. This will put an additional burden of about Rs 1,640 crore on the state government annually.

(With Agency Inputs)