The state government of Tamil Nadu has, on Monday, issued two fresh orders to deal and relax the financial stress and instability endured by the state in its fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. 

According to the first order, the government has directed to freeze the Dearness Allowance (DA) at the current rate till July 2021 for the government employees, teachers, and pensioners while through the second order, the state has suspended the encashment of earned leave for one year. The suspension of the encashment order has been issued by Chief Secretary Shanmugam for the Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department. 

The order says that the periodical surrender of earned leave for encashment for 15 days every year/ 30 days every two years under Rule 7A of the Tamil Nadu Leave Rules, 1933 has been suspended initially for one year to all the government employees and teachers with the view of addressing the financial stress brought by the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The order has also put the processing on hold as all the surrender requests and bills pending as on date and disbursement will not be processed and the sanction orders that have already been issued would be canceled and the earned leave would get re-credited to the leave account of the respective employees and the order also applies for all the constitutional and statutory government bodies including all state corporations, local bodies, commissions, companies, universities, boards, societies, and institutions. 

Tamil Nadu Finance Secretary Krishnan has issued the order of freezing the Dearness Allowance (DA) to the employees and pensioners. According to the order, the decision of freezing the DA at current rates till July 2021 has been taken by the state government with the view of adopting the decision of the Central government. 

The order says that the additional installment of DA payable to state government employees, teachers, pensioners due from January 1st, 2020 would not be paid so is the due from July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021. The order further stated that no arrears for the period from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, would be paid. However, the government has clarified that the DA at the current rates would be paid as usual. 

The order of freezing the additional DA would be applicable for teaching, non-teaching staff working in aided educational institutions, physical education directors, village assistants in the Revenue department, noon meal organizers, child welfare organizers, Anganwadi workers, Panchayat Secretaries, clerks in Village Panchayats under the Rural Development, employees under local bodies, and employees governed by the University Grants Commission.