Agartala, Feb. 8: The Left Front government in Tripura has sanctioned another instalment of dearness allowance for more than one lakh employees of the state government, public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies.

Finance minister Badal Chowdhury and information minister Anil Sarkar announced on Saturday that of the 25 per cent outstanding dearness allowance, the employees will receive seven per cent with prospective effect from April 1.

Chowdhury said with this latest instalment, the employees in the state would get altogether 45 per cent of the dearness allowance. Of this, 12 per cent would remain impounded in the general provident fund account and the remaining 33 per cent would be paid along with the employees’ salaries from April.

He said the payment of the fresh instalment of dearness allowance and concomitant hike in fixed pay of contingent employees as well as daily rated workers and pensioners would entail an annual additional expenditure of Rs 66.40 crore.

Both Chowdhury and Sarkar lambasted the NDA government at the Centre for denying funds to the state.

They said the 11th Finance Commission had deprived Tripura while sanctioning funds and despite repeated appeals, the Centre had not compensated the state.

He also criticised the widening gap between state and central government employees created by the NDA government and said this would lead to growth of administered inequality among different sections of people.