Kolkata, June 4: The West Bengal government has commenced the disbursement of Dearness Allowance (DA) relief payments to retired state government employees. This benefit will also extend to the family members or designated individuals in the event of the employee’s demise.
According to a notification issued from the state secretariat, Nabanna, the DA relief payments pertain to the period from 2008 to 2015.
The notification states that if a state government employee or pensioner has passed away, their designated person or legal heir will be entitled to receive the DA relief amount.
A state government official noted that in many cases, the relevant employee or pensioner had died before the DA dues were released. This situation complicated the payment process. To address this issue, new guidelines have been issued to include designated individuals and legal heirs.
The official explained that if the designated person’s details are recorded with the relevant department regarding DA dues, the payment will be made directly to that individual. If the current family pensioner and the designated person are the same, the amount will be transferred directly to their bank account.
He further mentioned that if the information of the designated person is unavailable, legal heirs will need to submit the necessary documents. Payments will be processed after document verification.
It is noteworthy that during the tenure of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, there was a prolonged legal dispute between the state government and various employee organizations regarding DA dues.
Following the formation of the new state government under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari last month, positive initiatives have begun in this direction. The payment of DA relief to retired employees, pensioners, and their legal heirs and designated individuals is considered a significant first step in this process.
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