India, Sept. 18 -- Ending a three-week standoff with state employees, the Punjab government on Friday agreed to release two installments of dearness allowance (DA) of 4% each. The combined 8% DA, backdated to July 2023, will be disbursed on October 1 alongside the September salary.

The breakthrough came during an hour-long meeting between chief minister Bhagwant Mann, cabinet ministers Aman Arora and Baljit Kaur, and 12 representatives of the Sanjha Mulazim Manch (Joint Employees Forum).

Speaking after the meeting, Arora said the payout would add a Rs.231 crore burden to the state exchequer.

Gurnam Singh Virk, the convener of the Sanjha Mulazim Manch, said the chief minister had agreed to a follow-up meeting in the first week of Octobe...