Delay in releasing pending 11 pc DA to employees rocks Himachal Assembly

Shimla, Aug 21 (PTI) The issue of delay in releasing pending 11 per cent Dearness Allowance (DA) to government employees rocked the Himachal Pradesh Assembly during Question Hour on Thursday, with BJP members leaving the House after accusing the Congress government of failing to fulfil its assurance.

Tempers ran high after Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, while replying to a query by BJP member Satpal Singh, said the 11 per cent pending DA instalment would be paid to the employees when the financial situation improves.

Satpal Singh said the Chief Minister had said in his Budget speech that three instalments of 11 per cent DA would be released soon, but the payment was still pending.

Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and BJP member Bikram Singh also accused the chief minister of misleading the House, and not honouring the commitment made in his Budget speech.

Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania tried to calm down the BJP members but they continued with their protest before leaving the House.

Sukhu said while payment of DA to the employees was the government’s responsibility, presently the financial situation was not so sound as the revenue deficit grant (RDG) has been reduced to a mere Rs 3,200 crore.

He also claimed the state was denied Rs 4,800 crore (Rs 1,600 crore every year from 2023 till 2025) after the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).

"During my meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmal Sitaraman, she said Rs 1,600 crore per year would be released if we agreed to the National Pension Scheme (NPS) or the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS),” Sukhu said.

The previous BJP government did not clear the liabilities of the revised pay scales and DA to the employees despite receiving RDG of Rs 11,000 crore, he claimed, adding that the Congress government paid two DA instalments of 3 and 4 per cent arrears of the revised pay scales amounting to Rs 10,000 crore.

Sukhu said the Congress regime paid two instalments of 3 and 4 per cent DA and arrears of Rs 10,000 crore due on account of the Sixth Pay Commission, adding that the pending DA instalments would be paid when the financial position improves.

“Congress won the Assembly polls due to the support of the employees and it must release the DA instalments instead of blaming the previous BJP government,” Jai Ram Thakur said, adding that the government had already completed two-and-a-half years in office.

Later, speaking to reporters outside the House, Sukhu hit out at the opposition for staging a walkout on the issue of pending DA and arrears, and accused the BJP of committing injustice against the employees during its tenure.

“Those who are talking about employees today are the same people who unleashed water cannons and lathi charge against them. They never implemented the Old Pension Scheme when in power, and are now pretending to be well-wishers of the employees," Sukhu said.

Speaking to reporters outside the House, Jai Ram Thakur accused the chief minister of repeatedly giving political answers in the House, rather than addressing the core issue.

“The Congress government came to power because of the support of the employees, and the promises made to them must be fulfilled,” he said.

“In his Budget speech, Sukhu announced that the pending 3 per cent DA would be released by May. August is ending now but the employees still have not received their dues. A total of 11 per cent DA is pending," Thakur said. PTI BPL ARI