Bengal to clear DA arrears for govt employees

Kolkata: The Bengal Finance Department, on Monday, came out with notifications regarding the clearance of pending Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief.

On Sunday, just ahead of the West Bengal Assembly election announcement, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to her X handle to highlight the clearing of long-pending DA dues for government employees. Through three separate notifications, the Finance Department has announced the decision to settle pending DA payments covering the period from April 2008 to December 2019.

The state government has taken this step primarily in compliance with a landmark judgement delivered by the Supreme Court on February 5, 2026, along with directives issued by a monitoring committee constituted by the apex court.

In the notifications, the state government has clearly stated that its financial capacity is currently under significant pressure due to large outstanding dues from several centrally sponsored schemes as well as ongoing commitments to various social welfare programmes and developmental projects within the state.

Despite these financial constraints, the government emphasised that the welfare and interests of its employees remain a priority. Therefore, it has decided to clear the pending DA in multiple phases.

As part of the first phase, the government will clear DA arrears for a four-year period, between January 2016 and December 2019.

The arrears will be calculated accurately based on the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI). The state government has decided that the arrears under this phase will be paid in two equal instalments. The first instalment will be released in March 2026, while the second instalment will be paid in September 2026.

However, the arrears covering the earlier period from April 2008 to December 2015 will not be cleared immediately. The Finance Department has stated that the modality and timeline for clearing dues for this earlier period will be announced later through a separate notification.

For serving government employees, the payment mechanism will differ based on employee categories. According to the guidelines, employees belonging to Group A, Group B and Group C categories will have their DA arrears deposited directly into their General Provident Fund (GPF) accounts. However, the amount deposited in the GPF account cannot be withdrawn as an advance or final payment for a period of 24 months from the date of deposit. Exceptions will be made if an employee retires, resigns from service or passes away within this period. In such cases, the amount may be withdrawn under specified conditions.

In contrast, employees belonging to Group D will receive their arrears directly in cash through their respective bank accounts instead of through the GPF mechanism. To ensure smooth implementation of the entire process, necessary technical updates are being introduced in the Human Resource Management System (HRMS).

The guidelines also provide clear provisions for pensioners and former employees. Pensioners receiving their pensions through state treasuries or banks will have their pending Dearness Relief credited directly to their bank accounts. Former employees who resigned between 2016 and 2019 after serving for a certain period will also be eligible to receive arrears for the applicable duration of their service. Such former employees will need to apply to their previous offices or the Head of Office to verify their service records and claim the arrears.

In cases where an employee has passed away, the arrears will be paid to the legal heirs or nominees of the deceased employee.

The government has also extended the arrear payment initiative to employees of government-aided educational institutions, including both teaching and non-teaching staff, as well as employees of statutory bodies, state undertakings, municipalities, panchayats and other local self-governing institutions.

These institutions have been instructed to compile detailed records of employees and the DA they received between January 2016 and December 2019 and submit the data to the relevant administrative departments.

Once this preliminary process is completed, the respective departments will issue their own notifications regarding the payment of arrears after obtaining prior approval from the Finance Department.