Government goes to officially ruling not to pay arrears of DA and DR frozen during the COVID-19 period. The announcement is made when months of talks about the 8th Pay Commission and speculation about arrears payment are doing the rounds. The decision directly affected millions of Central Government employees and pensioners who were hoping that payments due to them would be restored soon.
Why The Arrears Were Not Paid
During the pandemic, the government froze three installments of DA and DR-immaterial of January 2020, July 2020, and January 2021. This was a step taken to reduce the financial burden on the exchequer when the country was fighting an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Officials say that the fiscal strain during the pandemic continued to be felt after the 2020-21 financial year, and hence after taking that into account within the budget would have been impossible.
Understanding DA And DR
DA is an allowance granted to government employees and is meant to compensate for inflation which reduces the value of employee salaries. Likewise, DA is paid to pensioners as well. In the times of the 7th Pay Commission, DA was approximately 55 percent of the basic pay of an employee. When a new pay commission commissions, such as the 8th Pay Commission, starts functioning, the DA perk undergoes a reset to zero as the DA already incorporates some inflation in its pay rates.
Preparations For 8th Pay Commission
The Government has granted the preliminary nod to the constitution of the 8th Pay Commission, and soon thereafter it shall be set up formally. Upon being set up, the commission will consult various stakeholder groups in the matter of salary revisions and pension hikes, study the economic conditions, and produce a report with recommendations pertaining to salary and pension hikes. Further, they shall also decide the fitment factor, which sets the basis on how much the basic pay increase will be. It is expected that this complete process will take more than one year and that the revised pay structure would most likely be implemented in the year 2026.
What Employees And Pensioners Can Expect
The government’s stand is clear-that there shall be no back payment of any DA/DR installments frozen during COVID-19. Employees and pensioners must work for the next pay revision under the 8th Pay Commission. So, while no past dues have been recovered, the new pay system and revised allowances certainly offer a promising prospect of financial assistance.-Mollick 84.
Also Read:DA Calculator For 8th Pay Commission: Find Out Your 2026 Salary Hike