DA hike: West Bengal govt employees to get 20% dearness allowance increase, October salaries before Durga Puja, says CM

DA hike: State government employees in West Bengal will receive their 20% dearness allowance increase and salaries for the month of October 2026 before Durga Puja festivities begin, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said, PTI reported.

“I have asked the finance secretary and the finance minister to ensure that October salaries are released before Durga Puja. I have also directed them to release the additional 20% DA during the Puja month,” he said earlier this week.

According to the report, West Bengal state government employees receive their monthly salaries on the last working day and if the early release for October is implemented it would allow them to get the money by mid-month. Durga Puja is being celebrated in the middle of October this year.

‘Committed to reducing DA gap’

Addressing a programme at Bhavani Bhavan, headquarters of the West Bengal police headquarters in Kolkata on Tuesday (28 July), Adhikari also reiterated that the state is committed to reducing DA gap between its employees and those under the Centre, the report added.

Referring to his government's budget announcement, he said the 20% DA hike would come into effect from October. “There is a 42% DA gap between the Centre and the state. We cannot bridge that gap overnight; it will take time,” he added.

7th pay commission to be implemented

He further said that the government is also committed to implementing the 7th state pay commission's recommendations. The panel was set up this month.

West Bengal last week officially constituted its 7th pay commission after Adhikari said the government would implement recommendations within the financial year (FY27). According to the commission's terms of reference (ToR), it will review allowances, salaries and service conditions for state government employees and pensioners.

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.

Noting that officers below the IPS rank had not received adequate attention in the past, Adhikari said police personnel, like other state government employees, had also faced financial hardship over the years, the report added.

“Many states have revised the pay structure of their employees, but that did not happen here. You have not received the benefits of the 7th pay commission. We have already constituted the commission, and once it submits its report in the next few months, we will implement its recommendations,” the chief minister said.

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, “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 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 counterparts.

(With inputs from PTI)