West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced the payment of dearness allowance (DA) arrears to state government employees from 2008, as directed by the Supreme Court. The announcement was made through a statement posted by the Chief Minister on her social media handle on Sunday afternoon.
Notably, the announcement came just an hour before the Election Commission of India revealed the polling dates for four states and one Union Territory, including West Bengal. “I am happy to announce that our Maa-Maati-Maanush government has delivered on its promise to all its employees and pensioners, and to lakhs of teachers and non-teaching staff of our educational institutions, as well as employees and pensioners of our other grant-in-aid institutions such as panchayats, municipal bodies and other local bodies.
They will start receiving their ROPA 2009 DA arrears from March 2026 onwards as per the modalities detailed in the notifications issued by our Finance Department,” read the statement from the Chief Minister. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court directed the state government to pay 25 per cent of the DA arrears for the period between 2008 and 2019 by March 31.
The court also instructed the state government to follow a phased approach, as directed by the apex court, to ensure that DA payments to employees are aligned with those of Central government employees, along with clearing the arrears that have accumulated since 2008.
The agitation over pending dearness allowance in West Bengal has been continuing for a long time. State government employees have been demanding DA at par with Central government employees under the 2009 pay structure, known as ROPA 2009, along with the arrears accrued on it.
Earlier this month, state government employees also observed a cease-work protest accusing the state government of being reluctant to abide by the Supreme Court order.