HC order to make Sixth Pay Commission report public triggers new row over DA
A FRESH controversy has erupted over Dearness Allowance (DA) for West Bengal government employees, after the Sixth Pay Commission report was made public by the state government on Wednesday.
This comes after a Calcutta High Court directive that the report should be published online by July 1.
The controversy centres around a key recommendation made in the report — specifically in paragraph 12.4 — pointing out that the state is not bound to follow the All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI) to determine DA increases.
The Commission, chaired by economist Abhirup Sarkar, said the state may determine DA on the basis of its own financial capacity.
The court order was issued by Justice Amrita Sinha in response to a petition filed by government employee Debaprasad Halder. The petitioner had argued that while the state cited the Sixth Pay Commission in its defence in the ongoing DA litigation, the report itself had never been made publicly available.
The court instructed the government to upload the document on the official website of the State Pay Commission.
The Commission, chaired by economist Abhirup Sarkar, said the state may determine DA based on its own financial capacity.
'In view of the above, the Commission recommends that the State Government may from time to time decide the quantum of Dearness Allowance to be given to the employees, taking into consideration the financial resources available to the State Government. The State Government shall not be required to adhere to the prevailing All India Consumer Price Index for the purpose of granting/or fixing and /or enhancing the quantum of Dearness Allowance,' the report states.
This has drawn sharp criticism from employee organisations, who allege that the recommendation legitimises the state's reluctance to align with central DA rates. They also allege that it formed the basis for the government's decision to reduce House Rent Allowance (HRA) from 15% to 12% of basic pay.
'It was our long-standing demand to make the report public. Now, it is clear why the government has been saying it is not bound to match central DA rates or maintain earlier HRA levels,' said Malay Mukhopadhyay, leader of the Confederation of State Government Employees, West Bengal, which is one of the petitioners in the legal battle.
Dearness Allowance is extra money given to government employees and pensioners to help them deal with rising prices, calculated as a percentage of the basic salary or pension.
The DA issue has been a long-standing point of contention in West Bengal. The state currently pays 18 per cent DA, following a 4 per cent hike announced by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in this year's budget.
In contrast, central government employees receive 55 per cent DA.
'The revised House Rent Allowance of the employees… may be fixed at 12 per cent of the revised Basic Pay,' the Commission report states.
The matter gained renewed urgency after the Supreme Court, on May 16, ordered the state to release 25 per cent of outstanding DA arrears within three months. A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta passed the interim order while hearing the state's appeal against a 2022 Calcutta High Court ruling that had directed parity with central government DA rates.
The Supreme Court specified that the interim relief would apply to arrears accumulated between 2009 and 2019, affecting nearly 10 lakh state employees.
'We are of the considered view that the petitioner-State should release at least 25% of the amount due and payable… within a period of six weeks from today,' the court said in its order.
Meanwhile, the deadline for this payment ends on Friday, June 27, but the state government has not yet made any announcement.
'The Sixth Pay Commission has misled the government. Our fight in court will continue,' Mukhopadhyay said.
Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal.
Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur.
He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
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