CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday announced a four per cent dearness allowance (DA) hike for state government employees and pensioners.

An official release said that the DA hike would entail an additional expenditure of Rs 2,366.82 crore annually to the exchequer. It will benefit 16 lakh government employees, teachers, pensioners and those receiving family pensions.

The hike comes into effect retrospectively from the start of the financial year, 1 April 2023. The DA was increased from 38 per cent to 42 per cent, the release added.

It said that the state government will implement a DA increase whenever the Central government does so in future.

The official statement further said that the DMK government was fully aware of the contribution of its staff, who had dedicated themselves to the task of taking the welfare programmes to the people and would continue to protect their interests.

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