West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has confirmed that the dearness allowance for government employees will be addressed in the upcoming state budget. According to reports from PTI, the CM made this announcement while addressing a preparatory meeting for the BJP's special training camp on Sunday. The state government will make announcements regarding DA in the upcoming budget, as confirmed by the CM during the meeting.
On the matter of the 7th state pay commission, Adhikari added that the panel and DA arrears between 2016 and 2019 have been paid to nearly 3 lakh employees and pensioners. As reported by PTI, the West Bengal government approved, in principle, forming its 7th state pay commission in May to decide salary and DA hikes for state government employees, educational institutions, government corporation and board staff, and state government-aided bodies. According to state Women, Child, and Social Welfare Minister Agnimitra, the state's 7th pay commission will consider an upward revision of the salaries of employees. The scope of pay hikes would also extend to staff of statutory entities such as civic bodies, local bodies, education boards, and those working in state-run education institutions.
Employee representatives have highlighted a significant disparity in dearness allowance between central and state government employees. According to reports from PTI, central government staffers receive DA at 60% of basic pay, while West Bengal government employees receive it at 18%, leaving a gap of 42 percentage points between the two. Bhaskar Ghosh, convenor of the Joint Struggle Forum of State Government Employees, stated that the CM has assured them that the DA gap with the Centre will be bridged in phases, with expectations of a major announcement on this issue in the state budget on 22 June. Notably, Adhikari had committed to implementing the 7th pay commission recommendations by January next year.
The West Bengal employees' forum has stated that Adhikari has assured them that the state government will implement the Supreme Court's order on payment of dearness allowance dues. As reported by PTI, leaders of the Joint Struggle Forum of State Government Employees on 1 June told reporters that during a meeting, the CM assured them the apex court's orders would be implemented. The Supreme Court in a judgement made in February this year noted that DA is a legally enforceable right and directed the West Bengal government to pay arrears its employees' dues for the period between 2008 to 2019. Leaders confirmed that the CM assured them the apex court's orders would be implemented during the meeting.
Adhikari also provided updates on the Annapurna Yojana scheme, stating that his government has kept its poll promise to double financial assistance for women. According to PTI, the government has transferred ₹3,000 each to 50 lakh beneficiaries in West Bengal, compared to the earlier ₹1,500 under the TMC's Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. The CM noted that on the very first day, they gave the Annapurna Yojana benefit to 28,25,769 women, which he described as their biggest achievement. Addressing criticisms about the 12-page application form, Adhikari explained that this is for verification purposes, stating that proper verification is necessary as the money comes from the government exchequer. He alleged that there were 27 lakh names out of 2.2 crore Lakshmir Bhandar beneficiaries who were not on the voter list, with three lakh more males who took advantage of the women-only welfare scheme.
