New Delhi: In what could be good news under the 7th Pay Commission, the central government employees may soon hear about the final decision on 18 months DA arrears next week. According to media reports, the Union Cabinet is expected to take a decision soon on the pending DA arrears.
The central government had restored dearness allowance and dearness relief for employees and pensioners from 17% to 31% with effect from October 2021. However, the government has not paid the arrears to stop the dearness allowance hike. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now, new media reports suggest that employees and pensioners can get 18 months’ arrears in one go. This means some employees can get up to Rs 2 lakh in their bank accounts.
Reports also suggest that the Union Cabinet may discuss the matter of delay in payment of DA dues next week. The cabinet may discuss the quantum of DA in an upcoming meeting around the presentation of Budget 2022.
However, the government has not officially said anything regarding the payment of DA dues, which means that the reports can only be speculations.
DA arrears of Level-1 employees range from Rs 11,880 to Rs 37,554, while the arrears of Level-13 and 7th CPC basic pay scales will range up to Rs 1,44,200-2.,18,200.
The report, quoting Shiv Gopal Mishra of the National Council of the JCM, also mentioned that the issues related to the arrears were discussed between the National Council of the JCM, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Finance Minister. However, no concrete decision has been taken by the government so far.