Cabinet nod for salary hike

Nod to merge 50% DA of central govt employees with basic pay

nsion of all central government employees/pensioners will increase by 4.5 per cent".  The pecuniary benefit on the employees' future instalment of DA and dearness pay (DP) would also go up by 50 per cent beside a rise in entitlement for other allowances like the house rent allowance.  According to a cabinet note, the merged of DA/DR equal to 50 per cent of the existing basic pay/pension will be shown separately as DP/dearness pension (DRP) in the revised pay of the employees, with effect from April 1, 2004.  While the dearness pay plus basic pay will count towards payment of allowances like HRA , transfer grant, retirement benefit, the entitlements for leave travel concession, travel allowance/daily allowance, while on tour and transfer and entitlement for government accommodation would continue to be governed on the basis of basic pay only.  The Cabinet also approved the setting up of 750 residential schools upto class five in educationally-backward blocks all over the country.  The "Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Scheme' is mainly aimed at imparting elementary education to the girl child from scheduled castes and tribes, other backward classes and minorities, who would have reservation of 75 per cent in the enrolment.  The rest 25 per cent of the enrolment would be for girls from families living below poverty line. As much as Rs 489 crore has been allocated for the scheme under the Tenth plan.  The financing pattern, she said, would be 75:25 between the Centre and the states till the plan period ended and 50:50 after that.