Will the central government employees and pensioners get arrears for the dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) suspended for 18 months during the COVID-19 pandemic? In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shiva Gopal Mishra, Secretary, National Council (staff side), Joint Consultative Machinery for Central Government Employees, urged the central government to release the DA arrears of 18 months suspended earlier.
In a letter to Prime Minister, Mishra said, "As a secretary (staff Side) of the National Council (JCM) it is my duty to draw your kind attention to some of the major issues which are agitating the minds of the central government employees and pensioners."
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Government stalled the payment of DA and DR for 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021. Earlier, Mukesh Singh, General Secretary, of Bharatiya Pratiksha Mazdoor Sangh, urged the central government to release the suspended DA arrears of 18 months. In a letter addressed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Singh said, "I fully understand the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic disruptions that led to the freezing of three instalments of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for the fiscal years 2020-21. However, as our nation is gradually recovering from the impact of the pandemic, it is heartening to witness an improvement in the financial position of our country."
Earlier, in a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha, Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, said that “arrears of DA/DR, which mostly relate to the challenging FY of 2020-21, are not regarded as feasible due to the negative financial impact of the pandemic in 2020 and the funding of the welfare measures implemented by the government having a fiscal spillover beyond FY 2020-21.”
Dearness allowance is a component of salary of the government employees and pensioners. It was introduced to help government employees cope with rising inflation. This allowance acts as a buffer against rising prices, effectively increasing the take-home pay of government staff and pensioners. The DA is reviewed twice a year, in January and July, by the Union government. It's important to note that the amount varies depending on the employee's location.
Dearness allowance (DA) of central government employees increased to 50% from January 1, 2024. When DA touches 50%, certain allowances such as House Rent Allowance (HRA) are also revised. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoP&T) has already released a list of allowances that will be revised following the hike in DA this month. However, there has been no order yet regarding the change in certain allowances such as HRA. Clearing the doubts of lakhs of central government employees, the Ministry of Communications Department of Telecommunications said in an Office Memorandum dated June 20, 2024, "The undersigned is directed to draw the attention towards Department of Expenditure ID No.2/5/2017-E.1I(B) dated 20.03.2024 addressed to the Controller General of Accounts, New Delhi with copy to this Department and others vide which DoE has reiterated their position that no separate order with regard to increase of allowances consequent upon increase in DA rates to 50% is required."
It further added, "Therefore, the undersigned is directed to draw the attention of all concerned to the following orders issued by Department of Expenditure/DoP&T in the past and request that consequent upon increase of Dearness Allowance to 50% w.e.f. 01.01.2024, the enhanced revised rates may be regulated as per the respective OMs related to various items w.e.f. 01.01.2024."
