HC upholds SAT order, directs WB govt to release DA arrears

Upholding an order of the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed the West Bengal government to release dearness allowance (DA) arrears since July 2009 when the Revision of Pay and Allowances (ROPA) came into effect in the state within three months.

A division bench comprising justices Harish Tandon and Rabindranath Samanta said in its order that the stand taken by the state government that due to financial inability, it is not in a position to pay DA to its employees at the rate to be calculated using the methodology of uniform All India Consumer Price Index average is not acceptable.

The state government filed a writ petition in the high court challenging the SAT order of July 2019 that directed it to pay DA at par with the Centre and to clear the amount in three installments.

“The petitioners are directed to release the Dearness Allowance and Arrear Dearness Allowance to its employees at the rate to be calculated on the basis of All India Consumer Price Index average 536(1982=100) commensurate with their pay as per the ROPA Rules, 2009 as directed by the Tribunal within three months from date,” the HC order stated.

To get DA to be calculated at this rate is now the legally enforceable right of the state government employees, the bench said.

“We feel that denial or deprivation of the legitimate claim of Dearness Allowance of the employees to sustain their livelihood in a dignified manner may have a demoralizing effect upon them which may in turn adversely affect the smooth functioning of the government,” the order said.

Appearing for the state, Advocate General SN Mookherjee had submitted that payment of DA is deeply interlinked to the financial ability of the employer.

Besides, he had said, the employer is within its lawful domain to decline payment or disbursement of DA if the resources do not permit the employer to pay DA to neutralize the high cost of living of an employee.

Appearing for a section of the employees, Bikash Bhattacharya argued that the state’s submission of financial inability to pay DA at the rate of the Centre is not acceptable as it disburses DA to the members of All India Administrative Service and All India Police Service who are serving under the direct control of the state government.

The bench dismissed the writ petition of the state government.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)