DA Hike Announcement: A large section of state government employees was repeatedly protesting over dearness allowance. Protests were going on on the streets for a long time.
DA Hike Announcement: A big announcement has been made for the employees of West Bengal state government. West Bengal Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya proposed to increase DA or dearness allowance in the state budget. Dearness allowance for government employees is being increased by 4 percent. The increased DA will come into effect from April 1, 2025.
Protests were happening repeatedly
A large section of state government employees was repeatedly protesting over dearness allowance. Protests were going on on the streets for a long time. Economic analysts were speculating that DA would be increased in the last budget before the 2026 assembly elections. However, Mamata Banerjee’s government on Wednesday itself proposed to increase DA in the budget.
Phone will also be given
The Mamata Banerjee government of West Bengal presented the state budget in the assembly on Wednesday. Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya announced a 4% increase in dearness allowance (DA) to government employees during the budget speech. Along with this, it has been announced to give mobile phones to Anganwadi and Asha workers. With the increased DA, now the employees will get a total of 18% dearness allowance, which will come into effect from April 1, 2024. However, the opposition BJP opposed the budget and walked out of the assembly proceedings, alleging lack of new employment opportunities in it.
These big announcements were made in Budget 2024-25
Bengal Housing Scheme
Under the Banglar Bari project, 16 lakh houses will be built in the next financial year.
An additional budget allocation of Rs 9600 crore was made for this, taking the total amount to Rs 23,000 crore.
Road and bridge construction
An additional amount of Rs 1,500 crore was allocated under the Pathashree project. A provision of Rs 500 crore was made for the Gangasagar bridge (4.75 km long).
Employment and water management
Under the River Interconnection Project, a plan has been made to increase employment opportunities by connecting various rivers and water bodies, for which Rs 200 crore has been given. It was decided to make a master plan to prevent river erosion, for which a budget of Rs 200 crore has been kept.
Scheme for Anganwadi and Asha workers
Mobile phones will be given to all the workers from a budget of Rs 200 crore. Last full budget before 2026 elections This budget is the last full budget of the Mamata Banerjee government before the assembly elections to be held in 2026. Although the amount of Lakshmi Bhandar Yojana has not been increased, a provision of Rs 500 crore has been made for the Ghatal Master Plan, which will be completed in the next two years. In the budget, the government has emphasized on speeding up development works and increasing employment opportunities, while the opposition has called it incomplete and anti-people.
