The government has not yet made any decision regarding the allocation of dearness allowance (DA) for its officials and employees, said Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press briefing at the secretariat following a meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Government Procurement, he said: “I am unaware of who made such an announcement.”
When journalists asked whether public employees would receive the allowance, the adviser responded that no decision had been made regarding the matter.
In response to a follow-up question on whether the government is stepping away from the dearness allowance issue, he countered by asking: “Who made the announcement?”
Journalists informed him that the public administration secretary had mentioned the decision to grant the allowance.
The adviser said: “I do not know who made the announcement. We did not declare it. If a proposal reaches the Finance Ministry, only then will we decide whether to approve it or not.”
When asked whether any proposals had been sent to the Finance Ministry, the adviser further said: "We haven’t made any announcement or decision yet."
Recently, the Finance Division prepared a draft to provide 1.45 million public employees with a dearness allowance ranging from 10% to 20% of their basic salary. However, it also recommended removing the existing annual increment of 5%.
According to finance division estimates, implementing the allowance would cost the government an additional Tk5,000 crore annually. Sources indicate that the government has stepped back from the decision for now.