Govt staff drop DA arrears in relief box

Appeal to CM to name houses after Employees Association

The contribution was around Rs 140 crore, according to Government calculation.
However, Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association claims that the amount would be around Rs 195 crore.

The Government had announced 5.25 per cent additional dearness allowance with effect from July 1 this year. However, the amount had not been paid to the employees for the last four months.

The Employees’ Association had decided to channelise the arrears towards relief work. The State government employees have already contributed one-day’s salary totalling Rs 29 crore to the relief fund.

Association President L Byrappa, on Friday, handed over a letter communicating the fresh donation, to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. Byrappa appealed to the CM that the Government should utilise the amount to construct houses for the flood victims and name such colonies after the State Government Employees’ Association.
Yeddyurappa accepted the appeal and placed on record the employees’ gesture, which he said was the biggest so far towards relief work. Chikpet MLA Hemachandra Sagar donated Rs 1 crore towards the CM’s relief fund. Yeddyurappa said the Kerala Chief Minister had written to him assuring Rs 1 crore.

Dhanalakshmi Bank has come forward to construct 5,000 houses for the flood victims. Mysore Minerals, a State government-owned undertaking, handed over a cheque for Rs 5 crore for relief work.