Mamata govt to clear DA arrears of its employees, pensioners from March this year

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced that her government will clear DA arrears of its employees and pensioners, including teachers, non-teaching staffers, and workers of grant-in-aid institutions, from March this year.

The announcement came within minutes of hiking the honorarium for purohits and muezzins, ahead of the scheduled announcement of state assembly polls.

"They will start receiving their ROPA 2009 DA arrears from March 2026 onwards as per the modalities detailed out in the notifications issued by our finance department," Banerjee said in a post on X.

The arrears relate to the Revision of Pay and Allowances (ROPA) 2009, a long-standing demand of government employees and pensioners, covering salaries and allowances of teachers, municipal and panchayat staffers, and other grant-in-aid institutions.

A section of state government employees had moved the Supreme Court on the contentious issue, demanding clearance of DA dues. The top court ordered the release of 25 per cent of DA arrears to its employees by March 31, 2026.