The high court on Tuesday asked the Punjab chief secretary to remain present on October 5 over “prime facie failure” of the government to comply with its directions to release the dearness allowance (DA) within a fortnight.
The government counsel on the other hand had sought two more weeks’ time and submitted that it is attempting to amicably resolve the issue with the employees. The court expressed its dismay over the handling of the matter by the state government. On August 3, the high court had directed the Punjab government to release all pending DA instalments to all its employees and pensioners at the rate/s paid to the members of the All India Services (IAS/IPS/IFS) officers serving in the state on the central government pattern within a fortnight and asked for a compliance report by August 31. Further, it gave time to the state government till September 10 to remove the defects.
The court had also ordered that till all such dues are cleared, the government would 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. “Despite such repeated opportunities, the state has chosen not to comply with the orders of the court…Though we respect the right of the state to pursue its remedy of appeal, that right must be exercised fairly, and the proceedings cannot be adjourned indefinitely for the purpose,” it remarked, asking the chief secretary to remain present on October 5 unless the government has “some protection from the Supreme Court.”
