Punjab West Bengal Himachal consider DA to support staff, pensioners
Big update for government employees: Punjab, West Bengal, and Himachal Pradesh are all considering Dearness Allowance (DA) measures to help staff and pensioners keep up with rising prices.
DA is reviewed twice a year to offset inflation and currently supports more than one crore central government workers and retirees.
Three states tackle DA arrears
Punjab has set up a committee to sort out pending DA and Dearness Relief arrears between 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2024 and arrears based on revised salary and pension benefits between 1 January 2016 to 30 June 2021.
West Bengal will make a DA announcement in its next budget and has paid DA arrears between 2016 and 2019 to nearly 3 lakh employees and pensioners.
Himachal Pradesh is reviewing its own DA dues, with the chief minister focusing on timely payments and employee welfare by withdrawing salary deferment notices and releasing the pending pension arrears.