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Punjab News: Underlining that Punjab is already among the states providing highest government pay scales in the country and is providing pay scales higher than the Central Government in many categories, Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema said here today that due to the policies of the previous Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP and Congress governments, the state has inherited a liability of Rs 14,191 crore in the form of Pay Commission arrears of its employees.

He said that the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government has already paid dues worth more than Rs 6,000 crore under the settlement plan approved by the High Court and is committed to paying all constitutionally and legally valid dues after examining the latest High Court order and available legal remedies.

Addressing a press conference at Punjab Bhawan, Finance Minister Cheema said that the Employees’ Pay Commission report was actually prepared in 2016 during the tenure of the then Akali-BJP government, but it was not implemented for several years. He said, “This report was implemented only in July 2021. As a result, dearness allowance (DA) arrears from January 1, 2016, to July 2021, were deferred, creating a liability of Rs 14,191 crore.”

The Finance Minister further said that although the process of implementing the Pay Commission recommendations was initiated during the then regime, the then Congress government completed its tenure without releasing even a single rupee of these arrears, leaving the entire financial burden on the present government.

Outlining the steps taken by the AAP government, Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that after various employees approached the High Court, the Punjab government prepared a well-planned settlement plan, which was accepted by the court. He said, “Out of the total liability of Rs 14,191 crore, the AAP government has already paid more than Rs 6,000 crore to the employees. The High Court accepted this settlement plan and its implementation is progressing smoothly.

Reacting to the latest High Court decision regarding the distribution of current dearness allowance (DA), the Finance Minister said that the single bench’s interpretation appears to have ignored certain constitutional norms and judicial precedents. Citing the 2005 Constitution Bench decision in the State of Maharashtra case, he said that Punjab currently offers the highest pay scales in the country, which in many categories are even higher than the Central Government’s pay structure.

Presenting a comparison of the Punjab government and the central government pay scales for various posts, Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “The legal argument of the state government was that when the state’s pay structure is already quite high, no state government can simultaneously maintain both the highest basic pay scale and the highest DA rates of the Centre.” He further said that the previous Congress government itself had decided that the newly recruited employees would be included under the guidelines of the Central Pay Commission.

Reiterating the Punjab Government’s commitment to the employees, the Finance Minister said that all constitutionally and legally valid dues will be paid. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “Our legal team is studying the latest judgment in detail, reviewing judicial precedents, and consulting with legal experts to determine the appropriate legal recourse, including the possibility of filing an appeal in the Supreme Court.”

Concluding the press conference, Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that despite inheriting a huge financial burden from the previous Akali Dal-BJP and Congress governments, the Punjab Government is fully committed to resolving all outstanding financial liabilities in a planned and transparent manner.