WB DA Arrears: A major and highly significant update has surfaced regarding the pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears of West Bengal state government employees. During the hearing of the DA arrears case in the Supreme Court on August 8, the Hon’ble judges directed that the Monitoring Committee’s reports be submitted to the petitioner organisations within two days. In compliance with that direction, the Monitoring Committee has handed over two reports to the petitioner organisations. Detailed information about the state government’s progress in clearing the arrears has emerged from these two important reports submitted to the Supreme Court by the Committee. In this article, we present a thorough analysis of those reports.
Table of Contents
Background: Why Was This Monitoring Committee Formed?
Based on a landmark Supreme Court judgment dated 5th February 2026, this Monitoring Committee was constituted under the chairpersonship of Justice Indu Malhotra (Former Judge, Supreme Court of India). The Committee’s primary task is to oversee whether the DA arrears owed to state government employees for the period from 2008 to 2019 are being correctly disbursed in accordance with the All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI). The other members of the Committee include Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan, Justice Goutam Bhaduri, and Deputy CAG Mr. K.S. Subramanian.
Who Are on the Monitoring Committee?
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Justice Indu Malhotra (Former Judge, Supreme Court of India) |
| Member | Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan (Former Chief Justice, Jharkhand High Court) |
| Member | Justice Goutam Bhaduri (Former Judge, Chhattisgarh High Court) |
| Member | K.S. Subramanian (Deputy CAG) |
This Committee began its work on 10th February 2026 and has held a total of 9 meetings with the State’s Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary up to 29th June 2026.
Latest Statistics: How Much Money Has Been Paid?
As per the Status Affidavit dated 15th July 2026, a total of Rs 7,771.21 crore has been disbursed for the entire 2008–2019 period to more than 7.5 lakh employees and pensioners. The detailed breakdown is given below.
DA Arrears for 2016–2019 Period (Serving & Erstwhile Employees)
| Category | Target (No. of Employees) | Target Amount (Rs Crore) | No. Paid | Disbursed Amount (Rs Crore) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serving Groups A, B, C (into GPF Accounts) | 2,16,261 | 2,960.16 | 2,11,180 | 2,899.25 |
| Serving Group D (cash into Bank Accounts) | 30,492 | 226.51 | 29,606 | 221.59 |
| Erstwhile Employees (Retired/Deceased/Resigned) | 1,41,545 | 1,997.00 | 1,28,582 | 1,906.44 |
| Total DA Arrears | 3,88,298 | 5,183.67 | 3,69,368 | 5,027.28 |
DR Arrears for 2016–2019 Period (Pensioners)
| Category | Target | Target Amount (Rs Crore) | No. Paid | Disbursed Amount (Rs Crore) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pensioners | 2,67,975 | 1,764.25 | 2,06,146 | 1,463.69 |
| Family Pensioners | 96,358 | 510.50 | 73,418 | 426.07 |
| Total DR Arrears | 3,64,333 | 2,274.75 | 2,79,564 | 1,889.76 |
DR Arrears for 2008–2015 Period (Treasury-Based Pensioners)
| Category | Target | Target Amount (Rs Crore) | No. Paid | Disbursed Amount (Rs Crore) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pensioners | 2,39,535 | 870.83 | 1,74,461 | 640.31 |
| Family Pensioners | 87,677 | 274.28 | 64,831 | 213.86 |
| Total | 3,27,212 | 1,145.11 | 2,39,292 | 854.17 |
How Is the Money Being Paid, Group-Wise?
- Groups A, B & C: Arrears are being credited into General Provident Fund (GPF) Accounts, with a 24-month lock-in period (interest will accrue).
- Group D (chowkidars, peons, sweepers, etc.): The Committee directed that instead of GPF, they must be paid directly in cash into their bank accounts.
- Pensioners & Family Pensioners: Paid directly in cash into bank accounts.
- Deceased Employees: Where data is available in WBiFMS, arrears go into the Family Pensioner’s account. Where such data or a regular Family Pensioner is not available, a separate scheme (Annexure A-II) has been framed.
2008–2015 Period Arrears: New Installment Plan
The State Government had initially proposed paying these arrears in 10 installments over 5 years (up to July 2031), which the Committee rejected as wholly unacceptable. The State later submitted a revised scheme, under which the amount will be paid in 4 installments:
| Installment | Due Date |
|---|---|
| 1st Installment | July 2026 |
| 2nd Installment | January 2027 |
| 3rd Installment | July 2027 |
| 4th Installment | January 2028 |
The State Government has stated that payment of the first installment already commenced in advance from June 2026. Additionally, for treasury-based pensioners, approximately Rs 852.84 crore has already been disbursed to 2,38,958 persons towards DA/DR arrears for the 2008–2015 period as of 22nd June 2026.
Special Announcement for Kolkata Bank-Based Pensioners
Data collection and validation for elderly pensioners drawing pension from various scheduled banks in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area had been delayed. To resolve this, the Finance Department has developed a dedicated Bank Pension Management Portal, whose trial run with State Bank of India was successfully completed on 22nd–23rd June 2026.
- As per Notification No. 125-F(Pen) dated 7th July 2026, as a gesture of goodwill pending full validation, 50% of the estimated arrears for the 2008–2019 period will be released on an ad-hoc basis before the end of July 2026.
- The banks covered include State Bank of India (14,197 PPOs), Punjab National Bank (4,786), Indian Bank (2,035), and a total of 12 banks.
What About Pensioners Living Outside the State?
As per the report from the office of the Principal Accountant General, a total of 1,596 pensioners/family pensioners draw their pension from outside West Bengal. Of these, the highest numbers are in Bihar (714), followed by Uttar Pradesh (363), Odisha (269), and Jharkhand (167). DR rate information has already been sent to the respective states’ Accountant General offices so that arrears can be disbursed through their own treasuries.
e-Service Book Update: Why Is It Important?
Calculating arrears for the 2008–2015 period requires digitising employees’ manual service book records. As of 7th July 2026:
- e-Service Books of 60,606 employees have been scanned and uploaded.
- 1,32,862 employees have initiated the process.
- 2,60,349 employees have not yet initiated the process.
What to do: Employees who have not yet updated their service book should visit the relevant portal and upload their details promptly, otherwise arrears for the 2008–2015 period may be delayed.
How Much Money Is Still Pending?
As per the report up to 15th July 2026, the following amounts remain to be disbursed:
- For serving and erstwhile employees, 2016–2019 period: Rs 156.38 crore pending (18,980 persons)
- For pensioners/family pensioners, 2016–2019 period: Rs 384.98 crore pending (84,769 persons)
- For treasury-based pensioners, 2008–2015 period: Rs 290.93 crore pending (87,920 persons)
The report states that these arrears remain pending due to non-submission of Life Certificates, lack of valid bank account details, transferred pension cases, and certain legal complications.
Key Timeline at a Glance
- 5th February 2026: Main Supreme Court judgment
- 10th February 2026: Monitoring Committee constituted
- 23rd March 2026: Direction to pay 2016–19 arrears as per 100% AICPI
- 30th April 2026: Committee’s 1st Interim Report submitted (covering 7 meetings)
- 28th May 2026: 8th meeting; 2008–15 scheme rejected and directed to be reframed
- 29th June 2026: 9th meeting; revised 4-installment scheme approved
- 7th July 2026: Notification issued for 50% ad-hoc payment to Kolkata bank-based pensioners
- 22nd July 2026: Committee’s 2nd Interim Report submitted
- 3rd August 2026: Committee’s next meeting scheduled
Regarding Grant-in-Aid Employees and Teachers
It should be noted that neither of the two interim reports submitted by the Monitoring Committee to the Supreme Court makes any separate, explicit mention of Grant-in-aid employees, teachers, or teaching/non-teaching staff. Both reports present statistics on arrears recipients primarily categorised as serving employees under Groups A, B, C and D, and as former employees under Pensioners and Family Pensioners. Therefore, no specific information regarding arrears for employees of educational institutions or other Grant-in-aid organisations can be directly obtained from these reports.
Under the close monitoring of this Supreme Court-constituted Committee, the West Bengal Government is moving forward, step by step, with clearing the DA arrears. While most of the arrears for the 2016–2019 period have been settled, it is understood that fully clearing the 2008–2015 period arrears will take until 2028.
