K’taka greenlights 12.5% pay hike for state transport staff

Bengaluru: Karnataka govt Tuesday approved a 12.5% salary hike for employees of the state's four road transport corporations, benefiting more than one lakh workers. The move will increase the monthly salary burden on the corporations by Rs 72.8 crore, translating into an annual outgo of Rs 873.6 crore. The announcement comes a day after the govt increased dearness allowance (DA) for all state employees and pensioners by 1.5%. Under the revised order, DA has been raised from 14.2% to 15.7% of basic pay with retrospective effect from Jan 1, 2026.The DA revision is expected to cost the state exchequer around Rs 500 crore annually. The revised pay scale for employees of BMTC, KSRTC, KKRTC and NWKRTC will take effect retrospectively from April 1, 2025. The transport department said arrears would be released in phases depending upon the financial condition of each corporation. The four transport corporations together have salary arrears of nearly Rs 7,130 crore.The DA hike will also apply to zilla panchayat employees, temporary staff members, and full-time workers of aided educational institutions and universities. Separate orders will be issued for employees covered under UGC, AICTE, ICAR and the National Judicial Pay Commission. Karnataka State Government Employees Association president CS Shadakshari said the DA hike would benefit nearly 5.2 lakh govt employees, three lakh staff members of boards and corporations, and 4.5 lakh pensioners.Points for gfx:Over 1L BMTC, KSRTC, KKRTC and NWKRTC employees to benefitPay revision to add Rs 873.6 crore annually to corporations' salary burdenRevised pay scale effective retrospectively from April 1, 2025 Arrears to be cleared in phases Govt also raises DA for employees and pensioners by 1.5% from Jan 1, 2026