In a major relief for employees of government-aided schools, madrasas, and various other departments, the West Bengal government has officially initiated the process to clear long-pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears. A high-level meeting was convened at Nabanna on Wednesday, chaired by Finance Secretary Prabhat Kumar Mishra, to finalize the roadmap for disbursing payments to teachers, non-teaching staff, and pensioners.

Parallelly, the Madrasa Directorate has issued an urgent directive to District Inspectors (DI) of all districts, seeking a comprehensive report on DA arrears spanning from 2008 to 2019. The move aims to identify the exact number of beneficiaries and the total outstanding amount. While direct government employees started receiving their dues recently, staff at aided institutions remained in a state of uncertainty, which is now set to end.

According to administrative sources, the government had promised to clear 100% of the DA arrears for the period between 2016 and 2019 in a single installment. While direct salary-earners have mostly received their dues in their GPF or bank accounts, the process for aided schools, colleges, and local bodies took longer due to complex calculations. With the Finance Department now fast-tracking the district-wise data collection, the long-awaited funds are expected to reach the accounts of thousands of employees shortly.