DA crisis: Bengal govt employees to hold protest rally against Trinamool on July 21

Kolkata, June 28 (IANS) The United Forum of State Government Employees, the umbrella body of the West Bengal government employees, spearheading the movement against non-payment of dearness allowance at par with that of the Central government employees and the arrears accrued on it, will organise a protest rally coinciding with Trinamool Congress's annual Martyrs' Day rally on July 21.

The decision had been taken amid the deadline for crediting the 25 per cent dearness allowance arrears to the accounts of the current and retired employees as directed by the Supreme Court last month expired on Friday midnight and the arrears were not credited.

Instead, the state government, during the last moment, filed a petition before the apex court seeking six months of additional time for paying the 25 per cent dearness allowance dues.

The state government, in its plea to the apex court, has said that six months of additional time was required considering the present financial status of the state exchequer.

At the same time, the West Bengal government also appealed to the Supreme Court for a review of the earlier order for payment of 25 per cent dearness allowance dues.

While Trinamool Congress's Martyrs' Day rally on July 21 will be held in central Kolkata, the United Forum of State Government Employees' rally will be organised less than a kilometre away at the base of Shahid Minar within the same time on same day.

Announcing this at a press conference on Saturday, the forum representatives also said that apart from their rally on July 21, they will also be organising a "march to State Secretariat" programme on July 28.

"Besides the members of the different associations of the state government employees, the "untainted" teachers losing jobs following a Supreme Court order in April this year will also be participating at the protest march on July 28," the forum convener Bhaskar Ghosh said.

At the same time, he said, the forum is getting prepared for another round of legal battle on this issue, including filing a contempt-of-court petition in the matter against the state government.

At present, the West Bengal government employees receive dearness allowances at the rate of just 18 per cent, as against 55 per cent received by their counterparts in the Union government and many other state governments.

Payment of 25 per cent of pending dues is expected to cost the state exchequer in West Bengal around Rs 12,000 crore.

The state Finance department employees apprehend that this drain-out might impact some monthly payments under different welfare schemes run by the state government.

--IANS

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