Dearness allowance for govt staff under consideration: finance advisor

The government is "actively considering" the introduction of a dearness allowance for public servants, according to Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed.

He addressed the issue while speaking to reporters on Tuesday after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

The issue had previously come up for discussion soon after the interim government took office last year. However, due to financial constraints, the matter did not progress further.

On Tuesday, the finance advisor said: “We are actively considering the matter of dearness allowance. A committee has been tasked with working on it. There’s a fair chance it will happen, but it may take some time.”

Government employees typically receive a revised pay scale every five years. The last pay scale was introduced in 2015, and no new structure has been implemented since. This has renewed discussions around the need for a dearness allowance to offset inflation.

The advisor also said that procurement proposals for LNG, fertiliser and wheat were approved during the meeting.