Government of Karnataka has decided to stop the payment of additional installments of dearness allowance with effect from January 1, 2020 to government employees and pensioners in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision was taken on Tuesday evening following the central government order to freeze the DA and dearness relief to central government employees and pensioners respectively at the existing rates sanctioned with effect from July 1, 2019.

Karnataka government order issued by the state Finance Department read, "The additional installments of Dearness Allowance with effect from January 1, 2020 payable to State Government employees and pensioners including employees and pensioners on UGC/ ICAR/ AICTE/ NJPC scales of pay shall not be paid." According to this order, additional installments of DA due from July 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021 shall not be released until further orders. The govt will continue to pay the DA at the existing rates.

The state government said that when the Central government takes any decision to release the future dearness allowance due from July 15, 2021, the applicable rates of Dearness Allowance effective from January 1, 2020, July 1, 200 and January 1, 2021 will be prospectively and will be subsumed in the revised rate effective from July 1, 2021. Apart from this, Karnataka government also said that the employees and pensioners will not receive any arrears of DA for the period of January 1, 2020 till June 30, 2021.

This order will be applicable to full time government employees, zilla panchayat employees and full time employees of government aided educational institutions and universities. It will also apply on employees who are covered under the Karnataka Daily Wage Employees Welfare Act, 2012 and also employees of Boards, Local Bodies and Corporations, and also those associated with the government and autonomous industries whose dearness allowance is revised time to time based on the state government orders.