Dehradun: Pensioners awaiting a dearness allowance hike have finally received a gift from the state government. Following the state employees, dearness allowance has now been approved for pensioners at increased rates. This time, the dearness allowance for pensioners has been increased by three percent.
Providing significant relief to pensioners, the state government has approved an increase in their dearness allowance rate. According to an order issued by the Finance Department, from July 1, 2025, pensioners will now receive dearness allowance at the rate of 58 percent instead of 55 percent. The Governor has approved this proposal.
According to the order, this order will apply to pensioners whose pensions have been revised in accordance with the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission. This relief will apply to permanent pensioners of the state government, as well as eligible teachers and non-teaching staff of state-aided educational institutions under the School and Technical Education Department, who are approved for pensions at par with government pensioners.
However, the order also clarifies that this decision will not automatically apply to High Court judges, the Chairman and Members of the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission, civil or family pensioners of local bodies and public sector undertakings. The concerned departments will have to issue separate orders for these categories.
According to the government, no separate approval from the Accountant General will be required. The approved dearness allowance will be paid by the respective offices. Earlier this month, the state government extended the benefit of increased dearness allowance to its regular employees. Now, extending this benefit to pensioners will provide relief to over one lakh pensioners.
The increase in dearness allowance rates will impose an additional burden of several crores of rupees annually on the state government, but given the pressure of inflation, the government has taken this decision in the public interest. This will improve the income of pensioners.
