Big DA Update: March Arrears Likely? How Much Will Employees Get at 25% DA

The Supreme Court gave a key verdict in the awaited DA case, ordering the state to immediately pay at least 25% of pending dearness allowance to its employees. This puts pressure on the government before the elections.

Employees have long awaited a DA announcement during the state budget. This court order is significant as state employees have been in a long legal fight over pending DA.

After going through multiple courts, the case reached the Supreme Court. It's believed that employees will now get significant protection in this decade-long dispute.

Employees wonder how a 25% DA hike will impact pay. To calculate monthly arrears, multiply the basic pay by the percentage difference in the DA rate.

Total arrears are found by summing up pending DA from April 2008 to 2019. For an employee with a ₹10,000 salary in 2008, the total DA due by 2019 would be ₹5,82,553.

Since the Supreme Court ordered a 25% payment, the employee will get ₹1,45,638. Central govt staff get higher, regular DA, unlike West Bengal staff who face irregular payments and huge arrears.

The West Bengal govt faced a setback in the DA case at the Calcutta High Court. On May 20, 2022, the division bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Rabindranath Samanta announced the verdict.

The verdict favored the employees. The High Court ruled that DA is a right for state employees, who are entitled to it at the central rate. All pending DA must be cleared.