No decision yet on DA for govt officials: Salehuddin

The government has not yet made any decision regarding the allocation of dearness allowance (DA) for its officials and employees, said Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday, reports UNB.

"We have not made any decision regarding the dearness allowance yet," he told journalists in response to questions about the ongoing deliberations, after a meeting of the Advisors' Council Committee on Government Purchase (ACCGP) at the Secretariat.

When asked whether the government was reconsidering its stance on the DA, the finance adviser asked, "Who made the announcement about the dearness allowance? I don't know who made the announcement. Once it comes to the Ministry of Finance, then we will decide whether to give it or not, and only then will we make the announcement."

Sought comments on whether a proposal has been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance, Dr Salehuddin said, "We haven't made any announcement yet. I have not made any decision yet."

The Finance Ministry had recently prepared a draft proposal to provide a Dearness Allowance ranging from a minimum of 10 per cent to a maximum of 20 per cent of basic salaries for 1.45 million government employees. The proposal included recommendation to exclude the additional 5% annual increment for employees.