Pilibhit municipal council clears 10-yr DA arrears of 211 employees

PILIBHIT: Pilibhit municipal council on Tuesday cleared pending dearness allowance (DA) arrears of 211 employees, which were accumulated over the past 10 years. An amount of Rs 77.4 lakh was allocated for the payments.As April 14 -- the 135th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar -- was a bank holiday, employees were issued cheques, which could be encashed on Wednesday, said chairperson Dr Astha Agarwal.She added, “The municipal council is responsible for paying arrears for the period between the govt’s announcement and the actual payment. Due to non-payment over the past decade, the amount rose to over Rs 77 lakh.” She further alleged that “previous municipal council boards neglected the employees’ rights and interests”. The dearness allowance hike is usually announced by the state govt for employees of urban local bodies twice a year, generally effective from Jan 1 and July 1.