Chandigarh, August 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said the state government had inherited a financial liability of Rs 14,191 crore towards employees’ pay commission arrears, asserting that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has already cleared more than Rs 6,000 crore under a High Court-approved liquidation plan.
Addressing the media, Cheema said the government remains committed to clearing all constitutionally and legally valid dues while examining the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s recent judgment on dearness allowance (DA) arrears, along with the legal options available to the state.
The minister said the recommendations of the Pay Commission were prepared in 2016 during the tenure of the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government but were not implemented for several years. According to him, the report was eventually implemented in July 2021, resulting in DA arrears accumulating for the period from January 1, 2016, to July 2021, creating a liability of Rs 14,191 crore.
Cheema alleged that although the previous Congress government initiated the implementation process, it did not release any funds towards clearing the arrears, leaving the financial burden on the present government.
He said that after employees approached the High Court, the state government submitted a structured liquidation plan, which was accepted by the court. Under this plan, more than Rs 6,000 crore has already been disbursed to employees, while the remaining payments are being made in accordance with the approved schedule.
Commenting on the latest High Court order regarding DA payments, Cheema said the state believes certain constitutional principles and judicial precedents may not have been adequately considered in the single-judge Bench’s interpretation.
Referring to a 2005 Constitution Bench judgment relating to the State of Maharashtra, the Finance Minister argued that Punjab already offers some of the highest government pay scales in the country, with salaries in several categories exceeding those of the Central government.
He maintained that the state’s legal position is that it cannot simultaneously sustain both higher basic pay scales and the highest Central DA rates. Cheema also noted that the previous Congress government had decided to recruit new employees under the Central Pay Commission guidelines.
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