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DA Arrears: Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) were stopped due to poor economic conditions during the Covid pandemic. For a long time, central government employees have been demanding the restoration of 18 months' arrears. Once again these employees are pressurizing the government to release their pending arrears.

Demand for payment of DA arrears

In the 63rd meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Council (Joint Consultative Mechanism), many important issues related to central government employees were discussed, including the payment of 18 months' DA / DR arrears stopped during Covid. In this meeting, the employee side was led by senior leaders like Shivgopal Mishra and M. Raghavaiya. The employee side strongly reiterated its old demand on DA arrears.

In the meeting, the employee side once again clearly stated that the DA / DR amount of 18 months between March 2020 and June 2021, which was stopped due to the pandemic at that time, should be returned to the employees. He argued that both employees and pensioners are entitled to this relief, as they worked with their full-service spirit during that difficult time, even though there was a lockdown in the country.

What is the government's stand on DA arrears of 18 months?

However, the Finance Ministry has reiterated its old stand on this matter, saying that the economic situation had worsened due to the Kovid-19 epidemic, and the burden of the government's welfare schemes was felt even after the financial year 2020-21. In such a situation, it is not possible to pay DA / DR arrears.

8th Pay Commission was also discussed

In this meeting, the formation of the 8th Central Pay Commission and its reference term were also discussed. The employee side requested that the government appoint the chairman and members of the commission as soon as possible and issue ToR (Terms of Reference). The government said that notification has been issued to appoint some members, and the rest is in process. Central employees hope that the recommendations of the 8th Pay Commission will be implemented from January 1, 2026, and if there is a delay, then it should be paid with arrears.

A proposal for an Employee Insurance Scheme was also presented

Another big issue in the meeting was the Central Government Employee Group Insurance Scheme (CGEGIS). The Department of Expenditure said that they have prepared a new proposal regarding this insurance scheme and it will be shared with the employee side soon.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Amar Ujala. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.