India, Sept. 18 -- Ending a prolonged standoff with its employees, the Punjab government on Friday agreed to release two instalments of Dearness Allowance (DA) of 4 per cent each, providing a combined 8 per cent increase to eligible employees.

The enhanced DA, retrospectively applicable from July 2023, will be paid on October 1 along with the September salary. The decision came after an hour-long meeting between Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Cabinet ministers Aman Arora and Baljit Kaur, and representatives of 12 employee unions under the Sanjha Mulazim Manch.

Arora said the decision would impose an additional burden of about Rs. 231 crore on the state exchequer. The government described the payment as a goodwill measure while broader is...