The Odisha government onFriday announced a 5 per cent hike in dearness allowance, benefiting lakhs of its employees and pensioners.The hike, which will benefit around 3.5 lakh government employees and 1.5 lakh pensioners, will come into force with retrospective effect on January 1, 2020, official sources said.The government also decided to clear 10 per cent arrears pending on account of retrospective implementation of the 7th Pay Commission's recommendations with effect from January 1, 2016 to August 31, 2017 during the current fiscal.The government has cleared 100 per cent arrears of pensioners and 40 per cent of employees during the last two financial years.
