Get Central govt jobs if unhappy with DA: Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim tells West Bengal employees
1 min read 01 Mar 2023, 12:44 PM ISTFirhad Hakim has said the underprivileged are the priority for the Mamata Banerjee government.
PremiumKolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim has asked state government employees to take up Central government jobs if they are not happy with the Dearness Allowance (DA) given by the Mamata Banerjee administration in West Bengal.
At the Budget session of the Assembly on February 15, Chandrima Bhattacharya proposed 3% DA for state government employees. The Minister of State for Finance made the proposal with the approval of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The total Budget has been proposed to ₹3.39 lakh crore.
Beginning on March 1, 2023, employees, pensioners and family pensioners will receive DA. The 6th Pay Commission's recommendations served as the foundation for the choice. The new increase consists of a 3% increase that was announced in December 2020 and will take effect on January 1, 2021, as well as a subsequent 3% increase.
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There have been protests in West Bengal around the announcement. Employees of the West Bengal government are dissatisfied, claiming that their salaries will still fall 32% short of the DA provided to its workers by the Central government.
In defiance of threats of legal action, many state government employee organisations recently launched a 48-hour "pen down" protest in support of their demand for DA parity with the Centre.
Meanwhile, Firhad has said the underprivileged are the priority for the Mamata government. "It seems to me a sin to give more to those who are getting a lot. When the Central government is giving a lot of money, go and join them. I am not an executive of a multinational company. I get my salary from the taxpayers’ money. I serve people. That’s my primary responsibility."
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“It can never be the job of our government to further neglect those who are already deprived and neglected. So, we provide shelter to those who have no shelter, feed those who are hungry and arrange treatment for those who are sick. We try to bring forward the girls who are lagging behind with the Kanyashree scheme and put a smile on the faces of fathers who are unable to marry off their daughters with the Rupashree scheme," he added.
