7th Pay Commission: Central government employees may get pending DA arrears before this date

Central government employees could soon receive the much-awaited news of getting the dearness allowance (DA) arrears that have been stopped for 18 months now.

The Narendra Modi government had increased the rate of allowance from 17 per cent to 28 per cent. Later in October, the rate of allowance was further increased by 3 per cent.

Now, according to several media reports, the Cabinet Council has demanded that while restoring DA, there should be a one-time settlement of DA arrears, which are stuck for 18 months. 

According to some reports, the Union Cabinet, along with the cabinet secretary, is likely to hold a meeting in this regard before December 25.

Earlier, talks were held between the National Council of JCM, Department of Personnel and Training, and Ministry of Finance regarding arrears. However, no decision was taken yet. 

For the unversed, the DA is given out as the cost-of-living adjustment allowance that the government pays to the employees of the public sectors, as well as pensioners who worked in the same sector. 

The finance ministry had stopped the DA hike in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The halt was lifted on June 30, 2021. The Indian Pensioners’ Forum or Bharatiya Pensioners Manch (BMS) has also appealed to PM Modi to clear the arrears of dearness allowance and dearness relief of central employees and pensioners.