Chandigarh, 04 September (H.S.): The Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab Government has decided to increase Dearness Allowance (DA) from 42 per cent to 60 per cent for around 85,000 employees recruited after July 17, 2020. The move is aimed at addressing a long-pending pay disparity for employees appointed under the Central Government’s 7th Pay Commission pattern.

The announcement was made by Industries and Commerce Minister and AAP Punjab President Aman Arora during a press conference at Punjab Bhawan. He said the decision would benefit employees whose pay is based on the Central/7th CPC structure and has not been revised through court orders.

Arora said the issue arose after the Punjab Cabinet decided in December 2020 to align pay scales for fresh recruitments made after July 17, 2020, with the Central Government’s 7th Pay Commission. This created two broad categories of employees — those recruited before July 17, 2020, who continued under Punjab’s higher state pay structure, and those recruited later under the Central pay pattern.

According to Arora, post-2020 recruits were receiving DA at 42 per cent despite being placed under the Central pay scale structure. He said the government had now decided to raise their DA to 60 per cent to bring greater parity with Central Government employees.

“Employees are the backbone of good governance. The Bhagwant Mann government has always stood for the rights and dignity of every employee,” Arora said, adding that the decision was being announced as a Janmashtami gift to government employees.

The minister said Punjab Government employees in several older cadres historically draw higher basic salaries than their Central counterparts. However, the same argument does not fully apply to employees recruited after July 17, 2020, as they entered service under the Central pay pattern.

The beneficiaries include 20,603 teachers, 11,685 constables, 5,144 clerks, 2,355 nurses, 2,267 peons, 1,467 multi-purpose health workers, 1,248 medical officers, 1,214 patwaris and 1,129 junior engineers, besides employees in several other categories.

Arora also said the Punjab Government had placed its position on the DA issue before the Punjab and Haryana High Court and later before the Supreme Court.

Taking a swipe at the Opposition, he challenged the Congress and BJP to ensure similar pay parity in states governed by them before criticising Punjab.

The government said the decision reflects its policy that Punjab employees should not be financially disadvantaged compared with their Central Government counterparts.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH