Kolkata, 11 February (H.S.):Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav on Wednesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the only Chief Minister in the country who moved the Supreme Court against her own government employees to avoid paying them dearness allowance (DA).

Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Yadav said the Chief Minister had earlier claimed that several people died due to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. However, he asserted that no deaths occurred because of the revision exercise. Instead, he alleged that many state government employees were left frustrated due to non-payment of their long-pending DA dues.

Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, was also present at the press conference. He accused the Chief Minister of evading media queries regarding the Supreme Court’s recent order on DA arrears by terming the matter as sub judice.

Adhikari said the issue is no longer pending before the court, as the Supreme Court delivered a clear verdict last week. He stated that the apex court directed the state government to pay DA arrears to employees and pensioners for the period between 2008 and 2019. The court also ordered that 25 per cent of the total arrears be cleared by March 31 this year.

He warned that if the state government fails to comply with the order, legal provisions could be invoked.

It may be noted that on February 5, the Supreme Court directed the West Bengal government to clear the pending DA arrears. The immediate financial burden on the state exchequer is estimated to be around ₹10,000 crore, while the total long-term liability could rise to nearly ₹42,000 crore.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh