Sankranti cheer: Andhra govt releases ₹2,600 crore DA, DR arrears for employees, pensioners

The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday released over ₹2,600 crore towards payment of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) arrears for employees and pensioners, as well as bills of contractors, as a Sankranti gift, news agency PTI reported.

State Finance Minister P. Keshav said that a total of 5.7 lakh beneficiaries, including government employees, pensioners, police personnel, and contractors, would benefit from the disbursement.

“The Finance Department has cleared bills amounting to ₹2,653 crore towards arrears and works payments,” Keshav said in a press release.

The government also released ₹1,243 crore for works under External Aided Projects (EAP), the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), State Assistance to State Key Infrastructure (SASKI), and the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF). This includes around ₹40 crore for bills under the ‘Neeru-Chettu’ programme, which focuses on water conservation and plantation.

With these payments, about 2.2 lakh Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) employees and 2.7 lakh pensioners will benefit from DA and DR arrears. Nearly 55,000 police personnel will receive surrender leave payments, while over 19,000 contractors will get cleared payments for various works carried out across the state, the release added.

The disbursement is part of the state government’s initiative to provide timely financial relief to employees and pensioners ahead of the Sankranti festival, ensuring both social security and prompt payment of dues.