West Bengal Budget Promises 4% DA Hike, Announces Public Welfare Projects
Further, the state government will spend Rs 200 crores to open centres to buy paddy and another Rs 200 crores for a new project, Nodi Bondhon, to tackle river erosion.
Kolkata: In its last full scale budget before the Assembly Election in 2026, the Mamata Banerjee government hiked the dearness allowance (DA) of its employees by four per cent and announced several public welfare projects in West Bengal.
State finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, who tabled the budget Rs 3.89-lakh crores in the House on Wednesday, informed that the state government employees’ DA would grow by four per cent from April 1.
With this, the DA portion in the state government employees’ salary would increase to 18%. Ms Bhattacharya said, "Through this increase in the DA, we are reaffirming our commitment to the welfare of our employees."
Ms Bhattacharya also shared that the Trinamul Congress government has allocated nearly Rs 44,000 crores, the highest figure among all the sectoral allotments, for panchayat and rural development. It will also provide smartphones to 70,000 Asha workers, she said.
Besides, around Rs 41,000 crores have been earmarked for school education, followed by Rs 21,355 crores in the health sector. On the other hand, Rs 1500 crores have been proposed for building roads under ‘Pathashree’ project while Rs 500 crores have been allocated for the Ghatal Master Plan.
Further, the state government will spend Rs 200 crores to open centres to buy paddy and another Rs 200 crores for a new project, Nodi Bondhon, to tackle river erosion. It has sanctioned Rs 500 crores to build a 4.75 km-long bridge over the Ganga river at Gangasagar, famous for annual pilgrimage.
The chief minister later said, “If you look at the central budget, it shows that promises remain unfulfilled after election. But we don't do it. We always fulfill our promises if funds permit. I have a mision in this budget.”
She added, “Bengal used to have a huge tract of infertile land. We made it fertile. Onion production was not there earlier. Now we produce it upto 75%. We want to create more jobs because workers from our state are driven out when they go for earning outside though we don't resort to such practices.”