Raipur, Sep 2 (PTI) Officials and employees of the Chhattisgarh government on Friday called off their indefinite strike after the government agreed to some of their demands regarding the dearness allowance (DA) and house rent allowance (HRA).

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In a joint presence conference, state Agriculture Minister Ravindra Choubey and office bearers of Chhattisgarh Karamchari Adhikari Mahasangh (CKAM) announced to call off the strike here at the former's official residence.

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“We decided to call off the strike after the state government agreed to our various demands," CKAM's regional convener Kamal Verma said.

The state government had announced a 6 per cent hike in the DA last month, taking it to 28 percent, which was to be paid from August 1 this year, but considering the CKAM's demand, it will now be given from July 2021, Verma told PTI.

Apart from this, the state government has agreed to hike the DA by 3 per cent additionally from Diwali this year, taking it to 31 per cent, he said.

The state government has also assured that it will constitute a committee to address the HRA demand, as it has not been revised since 2016, Verma said.

“… the state government agreed to most of the demands of the federation. In future, the state government will take all necessary decisions in the interest of employees and officials. After getting an assurance in this regard, the federation has agreed to end the stir. I express my gratitude to Kamal Verma and other office-bearers of the federation for it,” Minister Choubey said.

More than 4 lakh employees and officials of the state government had been on indefinite strike since August 22, demanding 34 per cent DA and house rent allowance (HRA) as per the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, bringing to halt the functioning of most offices, thus inconveniencing citizens.

The state government on August 16 had announced a 6 per cent hike in the DA for government employees in the state, taking it to 28 per cent.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had earlier said disciplinary action would be taken against the protesting employees if they fail to return to work by September 1 or 2.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)