Kolkata, February 14 – An association of state government employees in West Bengal has sent contempt of court notices to the Chief Secretary, Nandini Goswami, and the State Finance Secretary, Prabhat Kumar Mishra, for failing to comply with the Supreme Court's order issued earlier this month, which directed the government to pay 25% of Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears between 2008 and 2019 immediately and definitely by the end of the current financial year, 2025-26.
On February 25, the apex court's bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra ruled that West Bengal government employees are entitled to DA as a legally enforceable right under the statutory pay rules and directed the state government to pay the arrears for the period between 2008 and 2019.
According to Firdous Shamim, the lawyer for the Confederation of State Government Employees, the umbrella body that sent the contempt of court notice to the Chief Secretary and the State Finance Secretary, the government has not yet taken any action to comply with the Supreme Court's order to pay 25% of the DA arrears between 2008 and 2019 immediately by March 31, 2026.
"Therefore, a contempt of court notice has been served to the Chief Secretary and the State Finance Secretary," Shamim said.
Besides directing the West Bengal government to pay 25% of the DA arrears between 2008 and 2019 immediately by March 31, 2026, the apex court also directed the constitution of a high-level committee to finalize a binding payment schedule for paying the remaining arrears.
Since then, the state government's top brass has maintained a stoic silence on the matter. Even Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee avoided media queries on the matter, stating that she would not comment on a case that is still under consideration.
However, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly ridiculed the Chief Minister's observation and questioned how the matter could continue to be under consideration when the highest judicial authority in the country had given a clear verdict.
Meanwhile, initial calculations have revealed that the apex court's order in the matter will cost the state exchequer a little over Rs 10,000 crore immediately and Rs 42,000 crore in the long run.
