kolkata

IIE DIGITAL DESK Kolkata: The announcement that brought relief to thousands of government employees and pensioners, Mamata Banerjee declared that the Government of West Bengal will begin clearing pending Dearness Allowance (DA) dues in compliance with directions issued by the Supreme Court of India. The Chief Minister made the announcement through a post on her official X handle shortly before the Election Commission declared the schedule for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

Banerjee stated that the government would honor its commitment to state employees and pensioners by releasing the long-pending DA payments. According to the announcement, the dues will be credited to employees’ accounts starting in March itself. The decision is expected to benefit a large number of teachers, non-teaching staff of educational institutions, employees of panchayats, municipalities and other local bodies across the state.

The Chief Minister emphasized that the initiative reflects the commitment of the “Ma-Mati-Manush” government to its workforce. She noted that the payments will be made in accordance with the state finance department’s notification and under the provisions of the ROPA 2009 pay structure. The announcement immediately generated a sense of relief among government employees who had been waiting for clarity on the issue of pending allowances for several years.

The controversy surrounding the pending Dearness Allowance has been the subject of prolonged legal and administrative proceedings. Earlier, the Calcutta High Court had directed the state government to clear the outstanding DA payments to its employees. Challenging that order, the state government moved the Supreme Court, where the matter continued to be debated.

The Supreme Court ruled that Dearness Allowance is a legal entitlement of government employees and must be paid accordingly. A bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Manoj Misra had directed the state to clear at least 25 percent of the pending DA in two instalments. The court had also set deadlines, stating that the first instalment must be paid by March 31 while the remaining portion should be settled by May.

To determine the timeline and method for clearing the remaining dues beyond the initial payment, the court constituted a committee headed by retired judge Indu Malhotra. The committee has been tasked with reviewing the issue and recommending how the remaining arrears should be disbursed to eligible employees.

Despite the court’s ruling, the payment process had faced delays due to administrative and technical challenges cited by the state government. Officials had informed the Supreme Court that records of more than 317,000 employees needed to be examined before processing the payments. Many of these records, particularly those dating back to before 2016, exist only in handwritten service books rather than in digital format.

The state administration argued that digitizing these records and verifying employee details required additional time. The government also pointed to shortages of administrative personnel in certain departments, which had slowed the process of documentation and verification. On these grounds, the state had earlier sought an extension of up to six months from the Supreme Court to complete the payment process.

The delay had triggered dissatisfaction among sections of government employees, leading to calls for protest actions. A platform representing employee organizations had even announced a strike last week, although reports suggested that the strike did not receive widespread participation across departments.

With the Chief Minister’s latest announcement, the government has now committed to clearing the first portion of the arrears within the current month. Employees and pensioners across the state are expected to receive 25 percent of their pending DA as part of the initial instalment.

The development has become a major administrative and political issue in the state, particularly in the run-up to the assembly elections. For many employees, the announcement signals a long-awaited resolution to a dispute that has continued for years in courts and government offices alike.

The implementation process begins, attention will now turn to how quickly the state administration can complete the verification of records and ensure timely disbursement of the remaining arrears in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions.