Will the Bengal Government Meet the DA Dues Deadline?

Kolkata, June 25 (NationPress) With less than 72 hours remaining to fulfill the Supreme Court's mandate for the West Bengal government to pay 25 percent of the outstanding dearness allowance (DA) dues to both current and retired state government employees, uncertainty looms large.

The effective deadline is set for midnight on June 27, as June 28 and June 29 are state government holidays.

Despite the impending deadline, members of the state cabinet, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with senior bureaucrats, have remained silent regarding the internal progress in this matter. Meanwhile, representatives from various associations of state government employees have not received any concrete assurances or responses from the state finance department, despite their repeated inquiries.

Given the current scenario, the associations suggest that two outcomes are now likely.

The first potential outcome is that the pending 25 percent arrears are deposited into the eligible employees' bank accounts before the deadline, allowing the state government to temporarily ease tensions with protesting employees.

The more probable outcome, however, is that if the state government fails to disburse the dues, it may face contempt-of-court proceedings.

Jagannath Chattopadhyay, the BJP’s state general secretary in West Bengal, indicated that there is a significant chance the state government may seek a review petition from the Supreme Court, similar to a previous petition concerning the cancellation of 25,753 school jobs in the state.

“If the review petition does not succeed, my information suggests the state government might request an extension, citing the need to complete the accounting process for the 25 percent pending dearness allowance dues. The government will likely attempt to postpone the payment process as long as possible,” Chattopadhyay stated.

Furthermore, the United Forum of State Government Employees, the collective group leading the charge on this issue, has hinted at launching a dual-front approach against the state government should the deadline be disregarded.

Bhaskar Ghosh, the forum convener, noted that they have yet to receive any updates regarding the government's plans to meet the deadline. “Should the deadline be honored and the 25 percent dues paid, we will welcome that and push for the remaining 75 percent to be cleared. If not, we will initiate dual actions against the government: updating the Supreme Court and filing a contempt-of-court petition, as well as starting another movement against the state government,” Ghosh said.

Currently, West Bengal government employees receive a dearness allowance of just 18 percent, in stark contrast to the 55 percent offered to their counterparts in the Union government and several other state governments.

The payment of the 25 percent pending dues is anticipated to cost the state approximately Rs 12,000 crore. Employees in the finance department fear that this expenditure might adversely affect monthly payments associated with various welfare schemes managed by the state government.