Tamil Nadu: CM Stalin Announces Slew of Benefits for Government Employees
Making a statement under Rule 110 in the State Assembly, Stalin said the announcements were a continuum of the diverse welfare schemes brought in by the DMK government after it came to power
Chennai: A two percent hike in dearness allowance (DA), an increase in festival allowance from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000, a substantial raise in education advance and a one-year maternity leave for women employees were among the nine announcements made for the benefit of the government employees and teachers by Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday.
Making a statement under Rule 110 in the State Assembly, Stalin said the announcements were a continuum of the diverse welfare schemes brought in by the DMK government after it came to power.
The slew of new measures included the advancement of the date of implementation of the new leave surrender scheme announced in the Budget, would ensure that no section of society was left out, Stalin said.
Since the government employees and teachers had been expressing their resentment over their long pending demands, which included the restoration of the old pension scheme, one among the new announcements was insisting on the committee set up on the pension scheme to submit its report by September 30.
Stalin, who acknowledged the contribution of government employees in implementing the schemes envisaged by the present government, which had earned nation-wide encomiums and ensured that the State remained in the forefront in various aspects, said that the marriage allowance for them would be increased manifold and that they would be able to get Rs 5 lakh. It was earlier Rs 6000 for men and Rs 10,000 for women.
The Rs 5000 prize money paid to group C and D pensioners and family pensioners for Pongal festival every year would be increased to Rs 6000, benefitting 4,71,000 pensioners, including family pensioners, entailing an additional expense of RS 24 crore to the government, he said.
The leave surrender scheme that was stopped for government staff during the Covid-19 pandemic was proposed to be resumed from April 1, 2026, for a maximum of 15 days leave in the annual Budget but now it would be implemented from October 1, he said, adding that it would benefit 8 lakh employees and cost an additional expense of Rs 3,561 crore for the government.
The two per cent increase in DA would benefit 16 lakh employees, increasing the government’s financial burden by Rs 1252 crore and the increase of festival allowance amount would help 8 lakh employees, he said.
Despite the announcement by the Chief Minister, the Tamil Nadu Government Employees Association said that it was not fully satisfied with the benefits that their members might get. While they welcomed some of the announcements there were unhappy over the non-restoration of the old pension scheme.
