State files review petition, urges reconsideration of earlier order

Kolkata: The state government has filed a review petition at the Calcutta High Court on Friday urging it to reconsider a division bench's order delivered on May 22 when the Bengal government was directed to clear DA dues to government employees in three months as per West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay and Allowance) Rules, 2009 (ROPA Rules, 2009).

With the three months deadline getting over soon, the state government once again approached the division bench for reconsideration of its judgment. It is to be noted that the government will have to pay the due DA arrears from July 2009. The division bench of Justices Harish Tandon and Rabindranath Samant earlier dismissed the state government's appeal for consideration for the payment of DA.

As recommended by the Pay Commission, the Confederation of State Government Employees filed a case in SAT in 2016 demanding arrears of Dearness Allowance.

The Centre had given 34 per cent DA (of the basic pay) to its employees after the Seventh Pay Commission had been implemented in January 2016. In Bengal, the government has so far given 3 per cent DA after the Sixth Pay Commission was implemented in January 2020, which means there is a backlog of around 30 months.

The High Court upheld the order of the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT). The High Court said that the state government would formulate a policy on DA based on the All India Consumer Price Index and implement it within three months. The matter came up before the court multiple times.

The Confederation of State Government Employees while filing the case in 2016, focused on the discrimination of the DA compared to the Central government employees. In 2018, the Calcutta High Court said gratuity is the right of any government employee. The state government is seeking a reconsideration of the division bench judgment as it would require a huge amount of money to clear all dues.