Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has written a letter to Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan regarding the provision of 42 per cent dearness relief to the pensioners of Chhattisgarh soon. In the letter, consent of Madhya Pradesh has been sought for the payment of dearness relief under section 49(6) of the Madhya Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2000. In his letter, Chief Minister Baghel has requested the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh to give instructions to the officers in this regard so that action can be taken to provide 42 per cent dearness allowance to the pensioners of Chhattisgarh as soon as the consent is received.

In the letter, Chief Minister has stated that the Finance Department of Chhattisgarh had written a letter to the Madhya Pradesh government on August 2 in the context of providing dearness relief to the pensioners of Chhattisgarh.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has decided to provide 42 per cent dearness relief to the retired government officials-employees from July 1, 2023. For the implementation of this decision, consent is necessary between the two states for the payment of dearness relief on pension, under Section 49(6) of the Madhya Pradesh Reorganization Act 2000. Further action can be taken on pension relief only after receiving the said consent.

It is worth mentioning that as soon as Madhya Pradesh agrees, the Chhattisgarh government will also take action to provide pensioner relief without delay.

Pensioner organizations are continuously demanding to increase the rate of dearness allowance to 42 per cent. But the pending approval of Madhya Pradesh has caused a delay in the process. As Chief Minister has written the letter in this regard to Madhya Pradesh, faster action can be expected now.