Kolkata, Jan 29 (IANS): There is a possibility of a maximum six percentage point hike in the dearness allowance for West Bengal government employees in the state budget for financial year 20025-26 scheduled next month, state Finance Department sources said.
Currently, Finance Department officials are busy working out the maximum limit of increase in the dearness allowance that the state government could afford without bearing unprecedented pressure on the state exchequer and departmental insiders said that a six percentage point hike has been determined as the maximum limit on this count.
However, even after this hike in the dearness allowance for the state government, their gap with that of their counterparts in the Union government will continue to be quite high.
Currently, the West Bengal government employees are enjoying a dearness allowance at the rate of 14 per cent, as against 53 per cent for the Union government employees.
Already, a case in the matter filed by an umbrella association of state government employees is pending at the Supreme Court.
The budget session of the West Bengal Assembly is slated to begin on February 9 and on February 12, Minister of State In Charge of Finance (independent charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya will be presenting the state budget proposal for 2025-26 on the floor of the house.
State finance department sources said that considering that this will be the last full- budget before the state Assembly elections in 2026, there is a possibility of enhancement in allocation under different welfare schemes offered by the state government, especially in those which are women and youth specific besides a hike in the dearness allowance for the state government employees.
Bhattacharya will be presenting the state budget next month amid the recently released 'Fiscal Health Index: 2025' report from NITI Aayog, which has revealed the poor show of West Bengal in revenue mobilisation, expenditure quality and debt index.
Of the 18 states reviewed, West Bengal ranked 16th in the report.