Thiruvananthapuram |The Left government in Kerala on Wednesday granted one instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to state service employees and teachers, resulting in an increase in the state's annual expenditure of around Rs 2,000 crore.

Finance Minister K N Balagopal also announced the approval of one instalment of Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners.

In a statement, the minister said that the benefit of increased DA and DR would be extended across all sectors, including UGC, AICTE, and medical services.

The approved DA and DR will be disbursed along with the salary and pension in the upcoming month, Balagopal added.

"As a result, the state's annual expenditure is expected to increase by approximately Rs 2,000 crore," the minister said.

One instalment of DA and DR had already been granted in April this year.

Starting from this financial year, the government aims to provide two instalments of DA and DR annually to employees and pensioners, as clarified by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the legislative assembly, according to the statement.

Despite the financial challenges faced during the COVID-19 period, a better salary revision was implemented in Kerala, Balagopal said.

"The benefits, including DA, were provided in cash at the beginning of the 2021-22 financial year. However, due to unfavourable measures taken by the central government, Kerala faced an unusual financial crunch, causing delays in disbursing some employee benefits," the minister said.

Balagopal emphasised that the government remains committed to ensuring benefits for employees and pensioners.