West Bengal’s 6th Pay Commission Report ‘Missing’? RTI Sparks Outcry, Case Reaches High Court!
6th Pay Commission: The controversy surrounding the recommendations of the West Bengal government’s 6th Pay Commission has taken a new turn. Recently, in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Secretariat revealed that the 6th Pay Commission report was neither tabled nor passed in the Assembly. This information has caused significant stir among state government employees, especially since the state government had previously informed the Supreme Court that it had implemented the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission.
In response to an RTI application filed by Shri Debaprasad Haldar, a petitioner in the Dearness Allowance (DA) case and convenor of the Unity Forum, Shri S. Das, Joint Secretary of the Assembly, stated, “Before implementation of the 6th Pay Commission Report the same was not submitted before the West Bengal legislative Assembly by the Government of West Bengal for laying the same before the House nor it was passed by the House.”
This revelation raises a critical question: if the report was never tabled in the Assembly, on what basis did the Finance Department implement its recommendations? And where is this copy of the 6th Pay Commission’s recommendations, which is “not in the public domain”? It is noteworthy that according to Section 8(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, information that cannot be denied to Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any citizen. In contrast, members of the Lok Sabha regularly ask questions about the 8th Pay Commission, and the Central Government provides answers, setting an example of transparency.
Many are now skeptical about the state government’s role in this situation. The discrepancy is stark, considering the West Bengal government stated on page 83 of its Special Leave Petition in the DA case before the Supreme Court that it had implemented the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission.
To uncover this “not in public domain” report and address questions of government transparency, all eyes are on the Calcutta High Court. The hearing for case WPA 26668/2024, filed by Debaprasad Haldar, convenor of the Unity Forum, is scheduled before the Hon’ble Justice Amrita Sinha next Monday. This hearing is expected to provide new direction in the state’s pay commission controversy. The people of the state await answers as to why a matter implemented with public funds is not “in the public domain.”
