Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Wednesday announced that the Dearness Allowance (DA) of state government employees will be increased by 4 per cent, taking it to 50 per cent of the basic salary.

The decision will benefit nearly 3.9 lakh state government employees and the hike will be effective from October 1 this year, officials said.

As the Diwali festival is approaching, the government has decided to increase DA by 4 per cent, bringing it at par with the central government, Sai told reporters here.

Earlier in March this year, the Sai government hiked the DA by 4 cent, bringing it to 46 per cent of the basic pay.

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