DA hike: Why dearness allowance gap is a key point of debate for West Bengal’s 7th state pay commission, explained
West Bengal this week officially constituted its 7th state pay commission after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari stated that the government will aim to implement the recommendations within this financial year (FY27). According to the terms of reference (ToR), commission will review allowances, salaries and service conditions for state government employees and pensioners.
Earlier in May, Adhikari had also assured state government employees that pending DA would be paid in due course, adding that the proposed pay revision would be accompanied by a restructuring of the salary framework to bring state employees’ emoluments closer to those of their Central government counterparts.
7th state pay commission constituted: Key highlights
In a resolution on 22 July, the state finance department constituted a four-member panel for its 7th pay commission. It is expected to submit recommendations within a period of six months, preferably, but open to extension as considered necessary by the state government, it added.
The panel is expected to review pay, allowances and other benefits (in cash or kind), pay rationalisation, DA and changes to pay structure for the state’s various departments, institutions, statutory, non-statutory bodies, corporations under administrative control of the West Bengal state government.
According to the state Women, Child and Social Welfare Minister Agnimitra Paul, scope of a pay hike based on the state’s 7th pay commission would also extend to staff of statutory entities such as civic bodies, local bodies and education boards, as well as those working in state-run education institutions.
Former Finance Ministry Secretary and retired 1985-batch IAS officer Atanu Chakraborty has been appointed as Chairperson. The other members include Partha Mukhopadhyay, senior fellow at Centre for Policy Research, Partha Pratim Pal, a professor of economics at IIM Calcutta, and state finance secretary Devi Prasad Karanam.
Bengal CPC: Why is DA gap a key point of debate?
The state’s 20% DA hike last month came as a relief for state government employees and pensioners, because it significantly reduced their salary gap with peers in the central government. The hike, effective from 1 October, increases DA to 38% of basic salary for state employees reduced the gap to 22-percentage point from 42 percentage points — a significant improvement.
Hailing the June hike, Swapan Mondal, general secretary of the Bangiya Shikshak O Shikshakarmi Samiti appealed to the government “to clear the remaining 22-percentage gap by December.”
The gap is largely because West Bengal state employees and pensioners are still covered by the 5th and 6th CPCs, which have much lower salaries and allowances, in comparison to the 7th CPC implemented by the Centre. DA, for example, is 60% of basic pay for central government employees. Further, with the 8th CPC underway, there are also concerns that the salary gap will widen even more.
Speaking to reporters on 21 July, Adhikari said the state aims to implement its 7th panel’s recommendations by March 2027 and that the government is committed to narrowing DA gap with the Centre, but without abrupt revisions.
“We will gradually bridge the gap between the Centre and the state in DA. Some of you may have expected that we would announce a 42% DA in one go. There were also reports on social media that we would announce a 10% hike. We did neither. We calculated it carefully and will bridge the difference gradually,” Adhikari said.
Bhaskar Ghosh, convenor of the Joint Struggle Forum of State Government Employees told reporters that in a meeting with the CM, issues related to pay disparities among state government employees, including temporary staff, were discussed and the “chief minister has assured us that the DA gap with the Centre will be bridged in phases”.
