Key facts
- DA for West Bengal state employees raised to 38% — a 20% hike
- Budget promises 1 lakh new jobs in the state
- MLA area development funds increased by Rs 30 lakh per constituency
- First budget of BJP's government in West Bengal
West Bengal's new BJP government tabled its first state budget on June 23, unveiling a raft of measures designed to stamp its mark on a state it wrested from the Trinamool Congress. The centrepiece announcements included a 20 percentage point hike in dearness allowance for state employees, taking total DA to 38%, a pledge to create 1 lakh jobs, and an increase of Rs 30 lakh in MLA local area development funds per constituency.
The DA revision is politically and financially significant. West Bengal's state employees had long complained that DA under the previous TMC administration lagged far behind central government rates, and the BJP had made bridging this gap a key election promise. Delivering on it in the first budget sends a clear message to the state's large government workforce.
The Rs 30 lakh increase in MLA funds gives newly elected BJP legislators a stronger tool to deliver constituency-level development work — roads, drainage, local infrastructure — quickly and visibly, ahead of any potential political consolidation. The 1 lakh jobs pledge, while the detail of its implementation remains to be seen, addresses unemployment concerns that were central to the BJP's campaign narrative in Bengal.
The budget has drawn mixed reactions: BJP leaders, including commentator Swapan Dasgupta, described it as business-friendly and scheme-oriented; opposition voices questioned the fiscal math behind the commitments. With Bengal long regarded as a fiscal stress state, how the government finances these promises without widening the deficit will be the key test in months ahead.