Bengal announces additional 18% DA for its employees
Kolkata, June 19: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced an additional 18 per cent dearness allowance (DA) to state government employees from January 2019.
"We have decided to provide an additional 18 percent DA to the state government employees including teachers and non-teaching staff and employees of rural and urban local bodies. This will be effective from next January," she told reporters at the state secretariat, Nabanna.
Banerjee said the Bengal government was going through a "tight financial condition" but has decided to release the additional DA as per its commitment to the government employees.
"This has been decided as per our prior commitment towards the state government employees. We are announcing it a bit early because we have to follow some planning. The state government will have to bear an annual additional expenditure of Rs 5,000 crore," she said.
The Chief Minister said that the erstwhile Left Front government had managed to provide a 35 per cent DA to the state government employees while her government has given a hike of 90 per cent DA.
"Despite our financial crisis and repaying loan to the Centre and running several welfare schemes for people, we have provided 90 per cent DA to our employees," she added.
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Railways created world record in derailments: Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata, Sep 24: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday mocked the Indian Railways, asserting that it has created a “world record” in derailments.
Banerjee’s comments came hours after a few wagons of an empty goods train jumped tracks in the state’s Jalpaiguri district.
"What is happening with the Railways? Even today, there is the news of derailment. The Railways has created a world record in derailments. But, nobody says anything?" she told reporters after an administrative review meeting in Birbhum.
"People's safety and security is in danger, and they are scared of travelling in trains. Where is the railway minister? Only asking for votes during elections will not help, you have to be by the side of people when they are in danger," Banerjee said.
Five wagons of an empty goods train derailed at New Maynaguri railway station in Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday morning.
No injuries were reported in the incident that occurred around 6.20 am, officials said.
Banerjee, who had served as railway minister twice, claimed that she had run the department smoothly and allocated several projects for West Bengal.
"As the railway minister, I had sanctioned projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore for Bengal," the CM said.
The Railways, in a recent report, had mentioned there were 18 attempts to derail trains across the country since August.
