Giving a major Janmashtami bonanza to Punjab Government employees, the Bhagwant Mann Government has decided to use its powers to raise the Dearness Allowance (DA) from 42% to 60% for 85,000 employees recruited after July 17, 2020, bringing their DA in line with the Central Government’s rate. The decision fulfils the government’s consistent stand, reiterated at multiple occasions and forums, that employees who are entitled to the benefit should receive it and those not covered by the applicable provisions should not.
With this decision, the government has once again ensured that Punjab Government employees continue to remain the highest paid employees in the country. The decision covers employees recruited under the post-2020 regime whose pay is based on the Central Government’s 7th Pay Commission pattern and has not been revised through court orders.
The three-member Cabinet Sub-Committee, comprising Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Industries and Commerce Minister Aman Arora and Social Security Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur, has decided to recommend increasing DA from 42% to 60% for employees recruited after July 17, 2020. The recommendation will now be sent to Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for final approval.
The decision was announced by Industries and Commerce Minister and AAP Punjab President Aman Arora at a press conference at Punjab Bhawan. The move addresses the disparity between employees recruited before July 17, 2020, who continue to be governed by Punjab’s historically higher pay structure, and those recruited after that date under the Central/7th CPC pay pattern.
Addressing the press conference, Industries and Commerce Minister and AAP Punjab State President Aman Arora said, “Employees are the backbone of good governance. The Bhagwant Mann government has always stood for the rights and dignity of every employee. Today, on the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami, we are fulfilling another promise by ensuring that our post-2020 recruits get the DA they truly deserve.”
The Industries and Commerce Minister said the issue stems from the change in the pay structure for fresh recruits. “In December 2020, the Punjab Cabinet approved bringing the pay scales / matrix for fresh recruitments and appointments made after July 17, 2020, at par with the Central Government’s 7th Pay Commission scales. This created two broad categories of employees: existing employees governed by Punjab’s historically higher State pay structure and post-2020 recruits whose entry pay scales are based on the Central Government’s 7th CPC pattern,” he added.
“Employees recruited before July 17, 2020 continue to benefit from Punjab’s higher basic pay scale. However, employees recruited after that date were brought under the Central Pay Scale pattern but continued to receive Punjab’s DA at 42%. This distinction could not be ignored,” Aman Arora said.
He further said that Punjab Government employees have historically drawn substantially higher salaries than their Central Government counterparts, with employees in several major cadres receiving 30% to 70% higher pay under Punjab-specific pay scales. “But the situation is different for employees recruited under the post-2020 pay structure because they do not enjoy those historically higher Punjab entry pay scales. Therefore, the argument that the lower DA is offset by substantially higher basic pay is far less applicable to this category,” Aman Arora said.
Aman Arora emphasised that the AAP government, under the leadership of CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, has maintained that no Punjab Government employee should take home less salary than their counterpart in the Central Government. He said the government has undertaken large-scale recruitment in recent years, providing employment opportunities to the state’s youth. “Our government has made it clear that employees of Punjab should not be disadvantaged in comparison with their Central Government counterparts. The increase in DA for post-2020 employees is a step towards addressing that disparity,” Aman Arora said.
The AAP Punjab President stated, “The Punjab Government has also placed its position regarding the DA of post-2020 employees on record before the Punjab and Haryana High Court and subsequently before the Supreme Court in the Special Leave Petition filed by the State. The issue was also reiterated publicly by Cabinet Ministers during the press conference on September 3, 2026.”
Taking a sharp dig at the Opposition, Aman Arora challenged the Congress and the BJP, which have been invoking Article 14 of the Constitution to demand pay parity for Punjab Government employees. “If they truly believe in Article 14, let them first ask their own state governments to bring their employees’ pay and allowances at par with the Central Government before preaching to Punjab,” he asserted.
*Bhagwant Mann Govt Raises DA For Its Employees*
Punjab has historically followed pay scales that are substantially higher than those of the Central Government, with salaries in several major cadres being 30% to 70% higher than their Central counterparts. However, employees recruited after July 17, 2020 were brought under the Central Government/7th Pay Commission pattern, while continuing to receive DA at 42%, making the lower DA rate particularly significant for this category.
The Punjab Government has now decided to provide 60% DA to employees recruited after July 17, 2020, whose pay is based on the Central/7th CPC pattern and has not been revised through court orders. The fact sheet states that 85,000 employees fall under this category, including teachers, constables, clerks, nurses, health workers, medical officers, patwaris and junior engineers.
The decision will benefit around 85,000 employees recruited under the post-2020 regime, including 11,685 constables, 20,603 teachers, 5,144 clerks, 2,355 nurses, 2,267 peons, 1,467 Multi-Purpose Health Workers, 1,248 Medical Officers (General), 1,214 patwaris and 1,129 Junior Engineers, among other categories.
