The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to release additional 7 per cent dearness allowance (DA) to its employees from July this year, official sources said today. The DA would also be given to the state government pensioners, an official spokesman said, adding that a notification in this regard would be issued by the finance department soon. This would put an additional burden on the state exchequer to the tune of Rs 200 crore annually. About three lakh state government employees and pensioners would benefit from this decision. The HP government is waiting for recommendations of the Punjab pay commission, set up after the Sixth Pay Commission for Central government employees.
