WB Cabinet Salary Hike: The West Bengal Cabinet has approved a pay increase for nearly 14 categories of contractual staff under the School Education Department, along with Forest Department employees and ex-MLAs. The move will cost the state exchequer around Rs 390 crore a year and directly benefit lakhs of employees.
Staff in the education and forest sectors, whose demands had been pending due to budget constraints, are the biggest gainers from this decision. As per the source, the Cabinet has cleared several long-pending pay demands in one go.
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Who Gets How Much More
Here is the category-wise breakup approved by the Cabinet:
- Para Teachers (Primary level): 20,343 staff will see pay rise from Rs 11,941 to Rs 16,941 a month.
- Para Teachers (Upper Primary level): 21,849 staff will get Rs 15,523 raised to Rs 20,523.
- Shiksha Bandhu: 2,280 staff, currently drawing Rs 9,954, get a Rs 5,000 monthly hike.
- Special Educators: 21 staff move from Rs 14,924 to Rs 20,896.
- Sahayak (SSK): 30,592 staff get Rs 5,000 more per month.
- Samprasarika (MSK): 6,291 staff get Rs 5,000 more per month.
- Mukhya Samprasarak (MSK): 327 staff get Rs 6,000 more per month.
- Academic Supervisors: 492 staff get Rs 5,000 more per month.
All these hikes take effect from November 1.
What This Means For Your Salary
Take a primary-level para teacher as an example. Their current monthly pay of Rs 11,941 rises to Rs 16,941 from November. That extra Rs 5,000 a month works out to Rs 60,000 more in a year, credited straight to the bank account, not as a one-time arrear.
The upper primary para teacher’s case follows the same arithmetic, another Rs 60,000 annually. Special Educators see the sharpest percentage jump, roughly 33 percent higher pay, since their base was comparatively lower.
New Rates For Forest Department Staff
Effective October 1, Forest Rangers, Deputy Rangers, Foresters, Head Forest Guards and Forest Guards all get a flat Rs 5,000 monthly allowance increase. Bansahayaks, numbering around 1,500, will see their pay go up by Rs 2,000 a month.
Ex-MLA Medical Allowance And Seva Kendra Grant
From August 1, the medical allowance for ex-MLAs rises from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000, a jump of Rs 4,000 a month. Separately, sitting MLAs running Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Seva Kendras will get a monthly grant of Rs 30,000 from June 1 to cover operational costs.
Management Staff And The New University Transfer Bill
Among 174 management staff under the School Education Department, those earning Rs 25,000 or less get a Rs 5,000 raise, while those earning above Rs 25,000 but up to Rs 40,000 get between Rs 7,000 and Rs 8,000 more.
The Cabinet has also cleared the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2026, which will create a legal framework for Inter-University Transfer of teaching and non-teaching staff. Taken together with the education pay hikes, the state’s additional annual outgo stands at close to Rs 390 crore.
At A Glance
- Para teachers, Shiksha Bandhu, Sahayak, Samprasarika and other education staff get pay hikes from November 1.
- Forest Department field staff get Rs 5,000 monthly allowance hike from October 1.
- Ex-MLAs’ medical allowance rises to Rs 10,000 from August 1.
- MLA-run Seva Kendras get Rs 30,000 monthly grant from June 1.
- New bill enables Inter-University Transfer for university staff.
