DA Arrears: Supreme Court DA Case, West Bengal Govt Seeks Time and to Launch New Portal

DA Arrears: The Dearness Allowance (DA) case of state government employees and pensioners has taken a fresh turn in the Supreme Court. Referring to the apex court’s directive dated February 5, the state government recently submitted a modification application. Through this move, the state is not seeking to dismiss the previous order but is requesting an extension of the deadline to clear the pending dues.

Why the Plea for Extra Time?

The state government has primarily cited financial and budget-related constraints for clearing the arrears. Due to the upcoming assembly elections, a ‘Vote on Account’ was presented on February 5, which lacked adequate fund allocation for DA payments. The government’s argument is that the required financial calculations will be incorporated when the full budget is presented in July 2026. Previously, the court ordered the immediate payment of 25 percent of the arrears and the first installment of the remaining amount, non-compliance with which has already led to contempt of court cases. To complete this entire payment process, the state has requested an extension until December 31, 2026.

New Portal for Data Digitization

A major technological hurdle has emerged while calculating the DA dues. Approximately 3,17,954 eligible employees and pensioners are supposed to receive arrears for the period between 2008 and 2019. Since salary processes were computerized from 2016 onwards, calculating those dues is relatively straightforward. However, data from April 1, 2008, to December 31, 2015, is manually recorded in Service Books. To bring these older records into a digital format, the state has decided to launch a dedicated online portal.

What Employees Must Do?

Employees will need to take a few crucial steps to submit their details through this upcoming portal:

• Uploading Service Books: Employees must scan and upload copies of their old Service Books online.
• Inputting Basic Pay: Both working staff and pensioners are required to input their Basic Pay details.
• Secure Login: The platform will operate through OTP and email-based verification.

The technical testing of the portal is scheduled to be completed by March 7, 2026, and detailed notifications will be published in the media by March 14.

Method of Receiving Dues

A Supreme Court-appointed special committee had recommended clearing the arrears of around 57,790 Group D employees in cash. However, the state government has expressed its intention to deposit this money into their Provident Fund (PF) accounts instead. If Group D employees receive their money in PF, it is highly anticipated that the arrears for all other categories of employees will similarly be credited to their PF accounts. It now remains to be seen whether the apex court grants this requested extension of time.