Finance (PC&TA) Department
G.O.MS.No. 95 Dated: 06-11-2020.
Finance Department COVID-19 Freezing of Dearness Allowance to the State Government employees and Government pensioners/family pensioners at current rates till July 2021-Orders – Issued.
Read the following:-
1. Office Memorandum No.1/1/2020-E-II(B), Ministry Department of Finance, of Expenditure, Government of India, New Delhi, dated 23-04-2020.
Order:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic. Recognising the extreme danger to public health and safety, preventive measures to deal with the spread of COVID-19 pandemic were initiated by the State Government in coordination with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, starting with the imposition of a complete lock-down from the 24th of March 2020, followed from time to time with the issuance of guidelines & the implementation of strict containment measures including inter-alia travel restrictions, social distancing measures, closure of entertainment, hospitality, non-essential shops & services, and increased testing, in order to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. The imposition of the lock-down measures has brought economic activities across all sectors to a standstill, dramatically impacting the realisation of revenue by the State from all the sources. Further, the continued detection and reporting of the COVID-19 cases is a bellwether towards the slow revival of economic activity & continued adverse impact on revenue realisation to the State exchequer. Thus, the need to shore up the financial resources of the State for allocation to health care and allied services & for providing support to the sections of society rendered vulnerable by the COVID-19 pandemic, becomes a pressing imperative for the Government.
3. In the reference 1st read above, the Government of India has directed that in view of the crisis arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the additional instalment of Dearness Allowance payable to the Central Government employees and Dearness Relief to Central Government pensioners, due from 1st January 2020 shall not be paid. The additional instalments of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief due from 1st July 2020 and 1st January 2021 shall also not be paid. As and when the decision to release the future instalment of Dearness Allowance & Dearness Relief due from 1st July 2021 is taken by the Government of India, the rates of Dearness Allowance & Dearness Relief as effective from 1st January 2020, 1st July 2020 and 1st January 2021 will be restored prospectively & will be subsumed in the cumulative revised rate effective from 1st July 2021. No arrears for the period from 1st January 2020 till 30th June 2021 shall be paid.
