Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], August 2 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has approved the increase in the existing rate of dearness allowance admissible to those employees of the State Government and State Autonomous Bodies/Undertakings, who are drawing their salaries and allowances in the pay band/grade pay applicable as per the recommendations of the Fifth and Sixth Central Pay Commission, from January 01, 2025, the Chief Minister's office said in a press release.

The increase would be done from 455 per cent to 466 per cent for the fifth pay scale and from 246 per cent to 252 per cent per month for the sixth pay scale.

He has approved the release of an amount of Rs 40 crore as the first instalment while approving a scheme of Rs 516 crore for the slope stabilisation work plan of the disaster-affected area of Joshimath in Chamoli district.

The Chief Minister has also approved the release of an amount of Rs 200 crore through reappropriation in anticipation of the amount to be received as the central share from the Government of India for the ongoing works under the centrally funded Jal Jeevan Mission program.

The Chief Minister has approved the approval of an amount of Rs. 40.49 crore for the construction of 'Devbhoomi Silver Jubilee Park' at 52 sites in the urban bodies of the state.

The Chief Minister has approved the approval of Rs 350 lakh to Uttarakhand Drinking Water Corporation and Rs 10 lakh to Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan for programs like NABARD, State Sector, EAP, Ring Fencing etc. under the self-project by Uttarakhand Drinking Water Corporation. Approval has been given for the release of an amount of Rs 150 lakh.

The Chief Minister has also approved the approval of a scheme of Rs 11 crore for strengthening and protective work of Ramjhula bridge located at Munikireti in Narendra Nagar assembly constituency of Tehri Garhwal district under the State Plan.

Earlier, CM Dhami on Saturday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he released the 20th instalment of the 'Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana', in Varanasi, transferring Rs 20,500 crores to 9.7 cr farmers.

Addressing an occasion, CM Dhami highlighted that over eight lakh farmers in Uttarakhand will benefit from this initiative.

CM Dhami said, 'Today, I have the privilege of being present among all of you on the historic occasion of the transfer of the 20th instalment of the 'Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana' by PM Modi. Today, PM Modi will transfer Rs 20,500 crore into the bank accounts of approximately 10 crore farmers across the country. Under this initiative, an assistance amount of more than Rs 184 crore will be distributed to more than 8,28,000 farmers in Uttarakhand today. For this, I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Agriculture Minister.'

PM Modi released the 20th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme from Varanasi today, transferring an amount of more than Rs 20,500 crores into the bank accounts of 9.7 crore farmers. (ANI)