central government employees and pensioners get arrears for the dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) suspended for 18 months during the COVID-19 pandemic? In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shiva Gopal Mishra, Secretary, National Council (staff side), Joint Consultative Machinery for Central Government Employees, urged the central government to release the DA arrears of 18 months suspended earlier.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Government stalled the payment of DA and DR for 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021. Earlier, Mukesh Singh, General Secretary, of Bharatiya Pratiksha Mazdoor Sangh, urged the central government to release the suspended DA arrears of 18 months. In a letter addressed to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Singh said, «I fully understand the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic disruptions that led to the freezing of three instalments of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for the fiscal years 2020-21. However, as our nation is gradually recovering from the impact of the pandemic, it is heartening to witness an improvement in the financial position of our country.»
In a letter to Prime Minister, Mishra said, «As a secretary (staff Side) of the National Council (JCM) it is my duty to draw your kind attention to some of the major issues which are agitating the minds of the central government employees and pensioners.»
Earlier, in a written reply to a query in Lok Sabha, Pankaj Chaudhary,