Punjab Clears Over ₹6,000 Crore In Pay Commission Arrears, Reviews High Court DA Order
News india Punjab Clears Over ₹6,000 Crore In Pay Commission Arrears, Reviews High Court DA Order Punjab Clears Over ₹6,000 Crore In Pay Commission Arrears
News india Punjab Clears Over ₹6,000 Crore In Pay Commission Arrears, Reviews High Court DA Order Punjab Clears Over ₹6,000 Crore In Pay Commission Arrears, Reviews High Court DA Order Published By, Last Updated: August 04, 2026, 23:10 IST The Punjab government is considering legal options on the High Court's DA judgment while reaffirming its commitment to clear all valid employee dues, Harpal Singh Cheema said. Rapid Read News18 Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said the state government is examining the recent Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment on dearness allowance (DA) disbursements and will decide its next legal course after consulting experts. He said the government remains committed to paying all constitutionally and legally valid dues to employees while ensuring financial stability. Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Cheema said the government’s legal team is studying the judgment, reviewing judicial precedents and exploring all available legal remedies, including the possibility of approaching the Supreme Court.
Government Defends Pay Structure Defending the state’s pay policy, Cheema said Punjab offers some of the highest government pay scales in the country and exceeds the Central Government’s pay structure in several categories. Referring to a 2005 Constitution Bench judgment in the State of Maharashtra case, he said the state’s legal position is that Punjab cannot simultaneously sustain both higher basic pay scales and dearness allowance rates equivalent to those paid by the Centre when its salary structure is already significantly higher. ₹14,191 Crore Arrears Burden ‘Inherited’ From Previous Governments The Finance Minister alleged that the AAP government inherited a liability of ₹14,191 crore in employee pay commission arrears due to decisions taken by the previous SAD-BJP and Congress governments. According to Cheema, the employee pay commission report was prepared in 2016 during the SAD-BJP government’s tenure but remained unimplemented for several years. It was eventually implemented in July 2021, resulting in the freezing of dearness allowance arrears for the period between January 1, 2016, and July 2021, creating a liability of ₹14,191 crore.
He further claimed that the Congress government, despite initiating the implementation process, did not release any amount towards clearing these arrears before leaving office. Over ₹6,000 Crore Already Released Cheema said the Punjab government prepared a structured liquidation plan after employees approached the High Court over pending dues. According to him, the plan was accepted by the court. He said the government has already released more than ₹6,000 crore out of the total arrears liability of ₹14,191 crore and that payments are being made in accordance with the court-approved liquidation plan. Government Questions Interpretation of Recent Judgment Responding to the recent High Court ruling on current DA disbursements, Cheema said certain constitutional principles and judicial precedents appeared to have been overlooked in the interpretation of the single-judge Bench. He said the government is examining the judgment in detail before deciding its future legal strategy. ‘Committed To Clearing All Valid Dues’ Reiterating the government’s stand, Cheema said the Punjab government remains committed to clearing all constitutionally and legally valid dues of its employees.
The BriefWire