Agartala, Mar 5 (IANS): Days before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP government in Tripura on Tuesday declared an additional 5 per cent dearness allowance (DA) for its 1,88,000 employees and pension holders.

Making the announcement in the Assembly on the third day of the budget session, Chief Minister Manik Saha highlighted the government's commitment to supporting its employees even during the ongoing challenging times.

The DA would be effective from January 1, 2024.

He emphasised that while some governments were compelled to halt salaries, his administration went ahead and announced a DA increment to alleviate the financial burden on employees and pensioners.

"In the face of adversity, our government has consistently prioritised the well-being of our workforce. This decision will result in an additional expenditure of Rs 500 crore from the government," the Chief Minister told the house.

He said that over 1.6 lakh government employees and 82,000 pensioners would be benefited by the decision.

An official said that after coming into power in March 2018, the BJP government revised the pay scales, with effect from October 1, 2018, based on the 7th Central Pay Commission recommendations. Thereafter, the state government released additional DA twice (up to 8 per cent and 12 per cent) to its employees and pensioners.

State government employees and pensioners had long been demanding from the state government that their DA and Dearness Relief be equal to that of Central government employees and pensioners.