Mamata Banerjee Announces DA Arrears for State Employees Ahead of Bengal Poll Schedule

KalimNews, March 15, 2026, Calcutta : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced that her government will begin clearing pending dearness allowance (DA) arrears of state government employees and pensioners from March 2026. The decision will also cover teachers, non-teaching staff and workers of grant-in-aid institutions across the state.

The announcement came shortly before the Election Commission of India was expected to declare the schedule for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, after which the Model Code of Conduct would come into force, restricting governments from announcing new policy decisions or financial commitments that may influence voters.

In a message shared on social media platform X, the Chief Minister said the move fulfills a promise made by the state government to its employees and pensioners.

“I am happy to announce that our Ma-Mati-Manush government has delivered on its promise to all its employees and pensioners, and to lakhs of teachers and non-teaching staff of our educational institutions, as well as employees/ pensioners of our other grant-in-aid instititions like panchayats, municipal bodies, other local bodies etc,” Banerjee said in a post on X.

“They will start receiving their ROPA 2009 DA arrears from March 2026 onwards as per the modalities detailed out in the Notifications issued by our Finance Department,” she added.

The Chief Minister also stated that the state government has approved fresh applications from purohits and muezzins who had applied for government support.

“At the same time, all fresh applications that have been duly submitted by purohits and muezzins have also been approved by the State Government,” she said.

Banerjee noted that the decision reflects the government’s recognition of the role played by religious functionaries in society.

“We take pride in nurturing an environment where every community and every tradition is valued and strengthened,” she wrote, adding that the government’s endeavour is to ensure that those who safeguard the state’s spiritual traditions receive due recognition and support.

The DA arrears decision and approval of new applications for religious functionaries came just before the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, which is implemented once the Election Commission announces the election schedule.

With the Assembly elections approaching, political observers note that such announcements are often made before the poll code takes effect, since once the code is in force, governments are restricted from announcing new financial commitments or welfare schemes.