Govt starts DA dues payout to retd employees

Kolkata: Bengal govt on Friday started disbursing pending dearness allowance (DA) dues to retired state govt employees, sources in the finance department said. The payments currently cover arrears accumulated between April 2008 and Dec 2015.Serving govt employees, however, have not yet started receiving the dues. Officials said the payments are presently being credited only to retired employees, while no timeline has been announced for serving staff.The development comes ahead of a crucial meeting scheduled on June 1 between CM Suvendu Adhikari and various govt employees' organisations. During a hearing this week, the SC sought an update from the state govt on clearing arrears. The state requested more time. tnn