DA raised from 28% to 50%; ₹14,000 cr old arrears being cleared by AAP Govt

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Last Updated: 29 September 2026

DA raised from 28% to 50% under AAP Govt i.e. +22 percentage points in 4.5 years for Punjab Govt employees & pensioners[1][2]
-- Latest: 8% hike (42% → 50%) from 1 Sept 2026, paid with September salary[2:1][3]
-- ~8 lakh employees & pensioners benefit[4]

Post-2020 recruits: DA for 85,000 employees recruited after 17 July 2020 (Central 7th Pay Commission pattern) to go from 42% to 60%, at par with Central Govt (Cabinet Sub-Committee, 4 Sept 2026)[5]

11 year Old Aklai Govt DA[6]
-- 6% DA instalment (Jul–Dec 2015, Akali-era period)
-- Paid in May 2023: ₹356 crore

Note[7]:

-- Punjab spends ~51% (vs ~38% average of other states)of its revenue on salaries & pensions
-- Punjab employees are among the highest paid in the country

1. DA hikes by AAP Govt[1:1][8][9][2:2]

From DA Hike
March 2022 (inherited from Congress) 28% -
October 2022 34% +6%
December 2023 38% +4%
November 2024 42% +4%
September 2026 50% +8%
Total under AAP +22%

2. Clearing previous Govts' pending arrears

₹14,000 crore arrears left unpaid by previous SAD-BJP & Congress Govts[10]

"We did not create this liability. We inherited it" - FM Harpal Cheema[7:1]

Approved for payment by AAP Cabinet (Feb 2025)[10:1]
-- Revised pay, pension & leave encashment: 1 Jan 2016 – 30 June 2022
-- DA arrears: 1 July 2021 – 31 March 2024
-- For 3 lakh employees & 3 lakh pensioners

₹4,500+ crore of these arrears already paid in monthly instalments (Sept 2026)[1:2][7:2]

DA arrears case (~₹14,191 crore) pending in High Court/Supreme Court (Sept 2026)[7:3]

3. Comparison with previous Govts

Govt DA given
AAP (2022 – Sept 2026) 28% → 50% i.e. +22%; plus ₹4,500+ cr old arrears cleared[1:3][2:3]
Congress (2017-22) 11% hike in 2021[11]; DA stood at 28% in March 2022[1:4]; left pay/DA arrears from 2016 unpaid[10:2]
SAD-BJP (2012-17) DA instalment of 2015 left pending, released by AAP in 2023[6:1]

References:

  1. https://www.thehansindia.com/news/national/punjab-pays-highest-salary-oppn-misleading-people-cheema-1117588 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=227147 (Punjab Govt notification, 23 Sept 2026) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=227153 (23 Sept 2026) ↩︎

  4. https://www.hrkatha.com/news/punjab-raises-da-to-50-for-government-employees-pensioners/ ↩︎

  5. https://www.babushahi.com/full-news.php?id=226310 (Punjab Govt Press Release, 4 Sept 2026) ↩︎

  6. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-cm-bhagwant-mann-gives-nod-to-release-pending-instalment-of-6-per-cent-da-to-government-employees-510867 ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-govt-deploys-3-ministers-to-defuse-employee-da-arrears-row-ahead-of-sept-8-protest/ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  8. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-govt-staff-get-4-da-hike-to-cost-state-rs-144-crore-each-month-573184/ ↩︎

  9. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-announces-4-da-hike-for-govt-staff-pensioners/ ↩︎

  10. https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/punjab-approves-disbursal-of-rs-14-000-cr-arrears-for-employees-pensioners-125021301615_1.html ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  11. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-govt-employees-da-hiked-by-11-333067 ↩︎

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