Punjab HC summons chief secretary over DA arrears delay

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday directed Chief Secretary KAP Sinha to personally appear on October 5 over the state government's failure to comply with its August 3 order to clear pending dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) arrears to state employees and pensioners. The bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor expressed dismay at the handling of the matter, noting that the chief secretary had not filed a compliance affidavit.

The court had in August directed the Punjab government to release all pending DA instalments at central government rates within a fortnight, warning of 6% simple interest on default, and barred unproductive expenditure such as large-scale advertising until dues are cleared. Livemint reports that the petitioners' counsel highlighted that the state had issued full-page advertisements in newspapers on August 15 despite the court's restriction. The state has filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court, arguing that paying Rs 14,191 crore in arrears within a short period is constitutionally impossible. Livelaw reports the court noted that defects in the SLP have not been removed.

The Punjab government in a statement said it is fully committed to employee welfare and that the matter is sub judice before the Supreme Court, whose decision will be binding. It added that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced an 8% DA hike, taking the total component to 50% of basic pay with an annual outlay of Rs 3,000 crore. The next hearing is on October 5.