Tripura CM vows to narrow DA gap with Centre, announces teacher recruitment drive

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on September 5 highlighted the state government’s initiatives in the education sector and assured efforts to reduce the Dearness Allowance (DA) gap between state and central government employees.

Addressing the state-level Teachers’ Day programme, Saha, who also holds the Education portfolio, said, “The state government has recruited 19,800 employees of various categories during the past seven years, out of which 5,215 are teachers. The government is committed to hiring quality teachers to ensure quality education in government schools.”

On the DA issue, Saha pointed out that while state employees currently receive 33 percent DA, their central counterparts get 55 percent. “I have released 29 percent DA to the government workforce in my 29 months as chief minister. We are working to bridge the DA gap, and there is no need to organise agitation for pending DA,” he said.

Highlighting the government’s vision to transform Tripura into an educational hub, Saha announced plans to elevate the women’s college into a full-fledged state university and set up three new general degree colleges in Ambassa, Karbook, and Kakraban.

He also said that the number of MBBS seats in the state will increase from 400 to 500, with the Health and Family Welfare Department working on the plan. Currently, Tripura has three medical colleges offering 400 MBBS seats.

On service matters, Saha said the government is examining ways to regularise ad-hoc promotions of officials and employees. “I have held meetings with legal experts, and a positive outcome will be announced shortly,” he added.