In what can be considered as great news for government employees and pensioners, the government has announced another 3 per cent dearness allowance (DA) hike.
The 3 per cent DA hike has been announced by the Himachal Pradesh government. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu on Saturday announced three per cent dearness allowance (DA) for 2.15 lakh employees and 90,000 retired employees during the state-level Himachal Day function on Saturday.
The decision to hike DA would put an additional burden of about Rs 500 crore on the state’s exchequer, an official statement said.
He also announced a pension of Rs 1,500 for all 9,000 women residents of the Spiti Valley above 18 years from June, opening of a college and to make 50-bed Community Health Centre in Kaza town operational.
The Chief Minister said the state government would take up the issue of developing an airstrip at Rangrik in Spiti with the Defence Ministry. Besides being important from the strategic point of view, the strip will also help boost tourism activities.
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The Chief Minister said besides constructing a heliport at Rongtong, a road would be costed at the cost of Rs 34 crore from Atargu to Mud in the Pin Valley as part of the third phase of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
Additionally, the government would also prioritise the construction of a road to connect Bhawa with Mud, the world’s highest altitude road.
He said a star-gazing observatory would be set up in the Fossil Village in Langza, a paradise for stargazers with the assistance of the Union government.
He said the government has brought 1.36 lakh government employees under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), fulfilling its promise of restoring the OPS, besides providing a monthly pension of Rs 1,500 to 2.31 lakh women of the state in a phased manner.
Under Widow and Ekal Nari Awas Yojana, 7,000 women would be given financial assistance to construct houses in this fiscal.
Also, the Land Holding Ceiling Act, 1972, has been amended to provide equal rights to daughters in property ownership of ancestral property, he added.
(With inputs from IANS)
Ms Kalinga