Thursday, July 31, 2025 | 02:11 AM ISTहिंदी में पढें
Business Standard
Notification Icon
userprofile IconSearch

How the dearness allowance case in West Bengal is coming to a head

After coming to power in 2011, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, broke the DA parity with the central government, except for officers of All-India cadres

Mamata Banerjee, Mamata
premium

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee briefs the media after a cabinet meeting, at State Secretariat in Howrah, Wednesday, May 14, 2025.(Photo:PTI)

Ashok K Lahiri

Listen to This Article

Dearness allowance (DA) is the extra money given to employees and pensioners to deal with rising prices. In India, with a humble beginning during World War I, DA for government employees has, since Independence, become a rule rather than an exception. In the West Bengal DA case, the country eagerly awaits the Supreme Court’s pronouncement on whether DA is a fundamental right of government employees.
 
A legal dispute on delays in payment of DA, festering since at least 2017 in the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal and High Court, has finally reached the Supreme Court in an appeal. The higher courts
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper