A big blow to central employees and pensioners, the government announced its final decision on 18 months’ DA arrears:

7th Pay Commission: The long wait of lakhs of central employees and pensioners for 18 months of arrears of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) has now turned into a big shock. The Finance Ministry of the Central Government has clearly stated that payment of this arrears withheld during the Covid-19 period is not possible at present. This news is no less than a big disappointment for the employee organizations which have been struggling for 6 consecutive years, because they were waiting for this pending money for a long time.

Why did the government refuse to pay?

The real reason for this tough decision has been made clear in an official letter issued on 15 April 2026 by the Department of Expenditure of the Finance Ministry. The government has cited the serious financial impact on the country’s economy due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry says that during that difficult period, there was sudden expenditure on a large scale on health services and public welfare schemes of the country, due to which there was huge pressure on the government treasury. In view of this adverse situation, it was decided to freeze the three installments of DA and DR to be implemented from 1 January 2020, 1 July 2020 and 1 January 2021.

Even the Supreme Court’s decision did not show any effect

It is noteworthy that the Defense Recognized Association had made a strong demand for the release of this pending arrears citing an order of the Supreme Court. But, the Finance Ministry has made it clear in its reply that the economic impact of the pandemic was not limited to just one year, but its impact continued for a long time even after the financial year 2020-21. In such a situation, assessing the current financial circumstances, it is not practically possible for the government to pay the arrears of these pending installments all at once.

What is expected next?

With this strict and clear stance of the government, it is almost certain that at present the central employees and pensioners are not going to get any financial relief on this front. Although the employee unions have been continuously raising their voice on this issue and calling it their right, but this latest statement of the Finance Ministry has completely dashed their hopes. This decision of the government will directly affect the financial planning of lakhs of families who were expecting to get this huge arrears.