The finance ministry in April last year put on hold the increment in dearness allowance for central government employees and pensioners till June 30, 2021, due to the pandemic.
The Union finance ministry has said it has not issued any order regarding the payment of increments in dearness allowance for central government employees and dearness relief for its pensioners. The finance ministry said a document claiming the resumption of dearness allowance to central government employees and dearness relief to pensioners from July this year is fake.
“A document is doing rounds on social media claiming resumption of DA to Central Government employees & Dearness Relief to Central Government pensioners from July 2021. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝗠 𝗶𝘀 #𝗙𝗔𝗞𝗘. 𝗡𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗢𝗠 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝐆𝐎𝐈,” the ministry tweeted late on Saturday.
The purported memorandum, which has gone viral on social media, is dated June 26 and says that the dearness allowance and dearness relief is frozen due to the coronavirus pandemic will be revived from July 1. It also states that the DA and DR pending between July 1, 2020, to January 1, 2021, will be given in three instalments. It has said that this order will be applicable to all central employees and pensioners of the central government.
The government said in March that central government employees and pensioners will receive full benefits of the allowance from July 1 and that all three pending instalments will be restored. The three instalments were due in January 2020, July 2020, and January 2021. In April last year, the finance ministry put on hold the increment in dearness allowance for central government employees and pensioners till June 30, 2021, due to the pandemic.
“In view of the crisis arising out of COVID-19, it has been decided that additional instalment of dearness allowance payable to central government employees and dearness relief (DR) to central government pensioners due from January 1, 2020, shall not be paid,” the department of expenditure said. The department also said that the additional instalment of DA and DR due from July 1, 2020, and January 1, 2021, shall also not be paid but those at current rates will continue to be paid.
The Congress on Saturday hit out at the government for not releasing the dearness allowance suspended last year and demanded its immediate restoration. “Instead of encouraging the 113 lakh employees engaged in the service during the coronavirus pandemic the central government is trying to snatch their hard-earned money It is a crime to loot ₹37,500 crore from soldiers, government employees and pensioners” Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi also said the government should ensure that employees and pensioners receive the “actual real arrears”. Singhvi said the decision to cut the allowance until June 2021 would give the government only ₹38,00 crore at the cost of its employees. He said the delay in the release of allowance is a reflection of the government’s “innate hypocrisy and double standards”.
On its part, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the government’s first priority is the welfare of the people. “The government will take an appropriate decision after considering all the aspects,” BJP leader Gopal Agarwal said.
