Punjab DA hike: BJP promises 63% DA, arrears to 8 lakh employees

A BJP government in Punjab will pay state employees dearness allowance (DA) at 63%, the same rate as central government staff, and clear all their pending arrears, state BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon said on Thursday.

Dhillon made the promise while welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to raise DA for central government employees by 3%. He accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of keeping state employees from their rightful dues. The pledge comes months before the 2027 Punjab Assembly election.

“Punjab’s DA has not even reached 60%,” Dhillon said.

High Court order ignored, says BJP

Dhillon said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the state government to pay DA to its employees on a par with central staff, but the order was never implemented. On October 27, he said, the court imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh, and the government had to apologise before the court.

Court reports show the ₹1 lakh costs were imposed on Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha in contempt proceedings over non-payment of DA arrears.

The state’s Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court, Dhillon said, is still stuck on the defect list and has not come up for hearing.

“Nearly eight lakh employees are protesting for their dues, and the government refuses to budge,” he said.

Hope for Jalandhar’s sports goods industry

Dhillon said the Centre’s Sports Goods Manufacturing Scheme could help revive Jalandhar’s struggling sports goods industry. The city makes about 60% of India’s sports goods, but he alleged that 40% of its units had shut down because of the AAP government’s neglect.

The scheme, he said, could put the industry back on its feet, restore Jalandhar’s place as a global sports goods hub and create jobs for thousands of young people.

Cheaper shipping for Ludhiana, Jalandhar exporters

The Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme would directly help Punjab’s exporters, Dhillon said. Ludhiana’s hosiery and bicycle makers and Jalandhar’s sports goods units could ship their products in cheaper, made-in-India containers. This, he said, would cut logistics costs and help them compete better in foreign markets.

More power to village panchayats

On the Prime Minister’s Viksit Gram Swaraj Yojana, Dhillon said the scheme would strengthen more than 13,000 panchayats in Punjab. Training and more powers for sarpanches and panches, he said, would speed up development work and improve governance in villages.