Telangana Cabinet Sanctions Two Pending DAs and Approves Power Projects to Tackle Drought

Telangana cabinet clears two pending Dearness Allowances for government employees and pensioners, requiring Rs 6,174 crore for clearing arrears.

DA Arrears and Payment Plan

The cabinet sanctioned the January 2024 and July 2024 DAs, which cover 33 months of arrears for the first and 27 months for the second, benefiting 6,91,940 employees and pensioners. These arrears will be paid in installments and deposited into General Provident Fund accounts. The state finance department will soon issue a formal order with complete details. Revenue and Information Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy stated that this payment adds a financial burden of about Rs 2,500 crore every year, noting that these dues were pending from the previous government.

Drought and Power Generation

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy chaired a four-hour cabinet meeting that also addressed severe drought conditions caused by El Nino effects, with 235 mandals facing drought due to a 17 percent rainfall deficit. The cabinet decided to urge the center for financial help, send a group of ministers to Delhi, and hold an all-party meeting. To meet surging power demand without cuts, the cabinet approved generating about 7,800 megawatts of power, comprising 3,000 megawatts of solar power, 4,000 megawatts of battery energy storage systems, and 800 megawatts of wind power.

Context

Dearness Allowance revisions are routine periodic adjustments made by governments to help salaried employees and pensioners cope with inflation. State cabinets frequently coordinate infrastructure planning alongside employee welfare measures when managing fiscal constraints and weather-related stress like drought.