The Delhi government staff who got no pay rise for 16 years just got a 100% hike — here’s why

Disaster management staff working under the Delhi government will see their pay rise by as much as 100% — the first such increase in 16 years. Delhi CM Rekha Gupta announced the decision, saying the government had "delivered justice" to personnel whose pay had stayed frozen since 2009.

The revision applies to those working under the Delhi State Disaster Management Authority — project officers, district project officers and project coordinators. These roles were originally created in 2009 with backing from the United Nations Development Programme.

Project officers and district project officers had drawn a fixed monthly salary of ₹25,000 since their posts were created in 2009. Project coordinators earned ₹20,000 monthly. Neither figure had changed in one and a half decades — missing all periodic pay revisions and Dearness Allowance that regular government employees receive.

The anomaly stemmed from these posts never being tied to any standard government pay scale or category. As a result, staff missed out on the periodic pay revisions and DA that regular government employees receive automatically over time — an oversight the CM has now moved to correct.

These personnel carry out statutory functions under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 — including drafting district-level disaster plans, conducting scientific risk assessments, identifying vulnerabilities in high-risk areas, running Emergency Operation Centres during crises, leading training sessions and conducting large-scale mock drills across Delhi.