Bhubaneswar, (IANS) The Odisha government on Saturday announced  a six percent increase in dearness allowance (DA) for 700,000  government employees and pensioners with effect from January 1 this  year.

The government hiked DA from 119 percent to 125 percent – an additional burden of Rs.667.90 crore annually on the  state exchequer, said state Finance Minister Pradeep Amat.

“The DA hike has been approved by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The six increase in DA will be effective retrospective from January 2016,” Amat said.

The decision will benefit four lakh government employees and three lakh  pensioners in the state.

With the government implementing the DA hike with retrospective effect  from January 1, the government would bear a financial burden of  Rs.789.72 crore this year, which includes four months arrears, he added.