Pay Commission DA Hike: Why will West Bengal employees get 22% dearness allowance compared to Centre's 58%?

The West Bengal government in its interim budget for the financial year 2026-27 has announced a 4% dearness allowance (DA) for its employees, as per a report from the Press Trust of India (PTI). West Bengal’s Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya also confirmed the DA hike in a social media post on X (formerly Twitter).

With a 4% jump, the total DA for West Bengal government employees increased from 18% to 22%. The state also reiterated its intent to work towards implementing the 7th Pay Commission, as per the PTI report.

The announcement came after the Supreme Court on Thursday directed the West Bengal government to pay pending DA to its employees for the 2008 to 2019 period.

Here an important question arises that while DA for the central government employees is 58% with an estimated 2% hike expected for January 2026, DA in West Bengal is stuck at 22%, which also includes a 4% proposed DA. Why is there such a huge gap between these two dearness allowances?

The difference is West Bengal is still having the 6th Pay Commission where DA, despite periodic hikes, has reached at 22%. On the other hand, the 7th Central Pay Commission (7th CPC) term for Centre ended on December 31, 2025, and central government employees are waiting for the 8th Pay Commission implementation. The 7th CPC, which culminated after completing its 10 years last month, saw bi-annual DA hikes, which reached at 58%. Now with a DA hike due for January 2026, it is likely to reach 60%.

States are allowed to have their own pay commission. They don’t need to align their pay commission with the central pay commission. However, if they want, they can follow in the footsteps of the CPC and announce similar hikes as Centre.

The Supreme Court has directed the West Bengal government to pay DA arrears for the period 2008 to 2019, calling it a constitutionally enforceable right. The court ordered the state to release 25% of the pending DA amount by March 6, 2026, as per a PTI report.

The Apex Court bench stated that dearness allowance is a legal right of employees and that arrears must be paid for 2008–2019, as per the PTI report. However, the court also clarified that employees cannot claim DA twice a year. It also ruled that retired employees involved in the case will also get the benefit of DA arrears.

Considering the huge financial impact, the Supreme Court formed a special committee. The committee includes former Supreme Court judge Indu Malhotra, two former High Court judges, and a senior officer from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s (CAG) office.

The committee will focus on to calculate the total amount payable, fix a payment timeline and monitor regular release of payments

The first instalment must be paid by March 31, 2026, subject to the committee’s decision, as per the Supreme Court.