The central government employees are all set to be treated with double bonanza. Now that it is almost clear that Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) are being reinstated for over 1 crore central government employees (CGE) and pensioners, there is another good news for CGE. As per an Office Memorandum issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, the government has decided to relax provisions for Children Education Allowance (CEA).  

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The development comes after several parents, who are central government employees, urged the DoPT to relax the norms, stating they have been facing problems in procuring documents related to the CEA from schools in the view of the pandemic.  

Issuing clarifications on Children Education Allowance (CEA) during the COVID-19 epidemic lockdown period, the DOPT said, "This Department has been receiving several references/ queries from Central Government employees stating that in the prevailing pandemic situation, result/report cards were not sent to the parents by the School through SM S / email, and the fee is also being deposited online, and the parents are having difficulty in claiming CEA."

Keeping in mind the problems faced by these employees, it said now CEA claims can be made even by a self-certification from the employees. "The matter has been considered and it has been decided that the CEA claims may also be considered through a self-certification made from the concerned employees or through printout of e-mail/SMS of result/report card/fee payment, in addition to the prescribed modes of claims only for the academic years ending March, 2020 and March, 2021," the DOPT office memorandum read.  

Earlier, the National Council of JCM (Staff side) has issued a letter, from the office of JCM Secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra, regarding the Dearness Allowance, the copy of which is with Zee Business. As per the letter, 26th June meeting with the Cabinet Secretary, the government has decided to restore the DA from July. It is expected that the central government employees and pensioners will likely get the previous three installments of January 2020, June 2020 and January 2021 together, however, these installments will not be paid in July. All three installments are expected to come in September.  

The central government employees are expected to get DA at 28%, which is currently 17%. They are likely to be paid 4 per cent DA for January 2020, 3 per cent for June 2020 and another 4 per cent for January 2021. A total of 11 per cent hike from the present levels, making it 28 per cent.