Tripura govt raises Durga Puja festival grant by Rs 300 for employees, pensioners and workers, benefiting over 2.34 lakh people, while allocating Rs 47.16 crore for grants and Rs 183.87 crore for festival advances ahead of Durga Puja on October 15.
The Tripura government has increased the annual Durga Puja festival grant by Rs 300 for various categories of government employees, pensioners and other workers ahead of the festival scheduled to be celebrated on October 15. Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy announced the revised grant structure at a press conference at the Civil Secretariat on Wednesday.
According to the Finance Minister, Group C and Group D government employees will now receive a festival grant of Rs 2,400 each, compared with Rs 2,100 last year. Daily-rated workers (DRWs) will also receive Rs 2,400 under the revised arrangement.
The government has also increased the festival grant for part-time workers (PTWs) and contractual employees from Rs 2,310 to Rs 2,610. Pensioners will receive Rs 2,400, up from Rs 2,100 previously.
Anganwadi workers, helpers and home guards will receive Rs 2,610 as festival grant. The grant for temple purohits has also been increased from Rs 2,100 to Rs 2,400. Meanwhile, pump operators will receive Rs 1,350, compared with the earlier amount of Rs 1,050.
Part-time workers engaged under the Rural Development and Panchayat departments will also receive the revised amount of Rs 1,350, representing an increase of Rs 300 over the previous grant.
Finance Minister Singha Roy said the revised festival grant would benefit 1,48,501 government employees and 85,916 pensioners. The state government is expected to incur an expenditure of around Rs 47.16 crore on the festival grant this year. The Rs 300 increase across the applicable categories will add around Rs 6 crore to the government’s expenditure.
The minister said the festival grant had stood at Rs 700 during 2017-18 and had been increased periodically over the years. He also clarified that employees belonging to Christian and other religious communities would be able to avail themselves of the benefit in connection with their respective festivals. However, the benefit can be availed only once in a year.
In addition to the festival grant, the state government has allocated Rs 183.87 crore for festival advances for eligible employees and workers. Under the existing arrangement, Group A, Group B, Group C fixed-pay and regular employees, Group D regular employees and daily-rated workers are eligible to receive an advance of Rs 20,000.
Home guards and Anganwadi workers are eligible for a festival advance of Rs 5,000, while ASHA workers will receive Rs 2,000. The Finance Minister said a memorandum regarding the festival advance had already been issued by the government on September 21.
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The announcements are part of the state government’s arrangements ahead of the Durga Puja celebrations. The increased festival grant and advances are intended to provide financial support to eligible employees, pensioners and workers during the festive period.
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Finance Department Secretary P K Goyal and Additional Secretary Akinchan Sarkar were also present during the press conference. The government’s revised financial provisions will apply ahead of Durga Puja, which is scheduled for October 15 this year.
