Chandigarh, Sep 22 The Punjab government on Tuesday said it is fully committed to the welfare of employees and pensioners and also said the matter concerning pending dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) is already before the Supreme Court and its decision will be binding on all parties.
The Punjab government had moved the Supreme Court on September 1 against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order which had directed it to release DA and DR dues to state employees and pensioners at the rates paid to the members of the All India Services officers serving in the state.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Punjab government said, “This matter is sub judice before the Supreme Court. All concerned should respect the judicial process and await the decision of the Apex Court. Whatever decision is passed by the Supreme Court will be binding on all parties.”
Despite this, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has taken a proactive step for the welfare of employees and pensioners by announcing an eight per cent increase in DA, taking the total DA rate to 50 per cent, with an annual financial outlay of Rs 3,000 crore, it said.
“The Punjab government is an employee-friendly government. We have listened to the concerns of employees and pensioners and have taken decisions accordingly,” it said.
It said the legal proceedings should not be misrepresented as a refusal to respect the judiciary.
“The Punjab government has approached the Supreme Court through the appropriate legal process. Exercising the constitutional right to seek relief from the Supreme Court cannot be described as disregard for the judiciary. We have complete faith in the judicial system and will abide by the final directions of the competent court,” it added.
On August 3, the high court had directed the Punjab government to release all up-to-date pending instalments of DA to all its employees and pensioners within a fortnight.
The court had further directed that till all such dues are cleared, the state of Punjab shall not resort to any unproductive expenditures, such as large-scale advertising campaigns in print or social media, as these expenses cannot justify the denial of dues admissible to state employees.
In default of payment within the time aforesaid, the unpaid amounts shall carry simple interest at the rate of six per cent per annum, the court had then directed.
The petitioners moved the high court against the state government for not complying with the August 3 order.
(PTI News)
