Chandigarh: The Punjab government’s administrative functioning ground to a near-halt on Tuesday as secretarial, directorate, deputy commissioner, and tehsil office staff took a collective one-day mass casual leave, demanding the immediate release of ₹14,191 crore in pending dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) arrears accumulated over several years.
Protesting outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh, workers raised slogans against the state government for ignoring their financial grievances. While hospital and transport workers exempted themselves to maintain essential services, this marks the second state-wide shutdown in 10 days.
The unrest began on August 27 with an initial mass leave. Subsequent talks broke down when chief minister Bhagwant Mann refused to meet union leaders in Jalandhar unless they called off the strike unconditionally. In response, over 150 unions operating under the Sanjha Mulazim Manch umbrella escalated their agitation.
Though a cabinet sub-committee, comprising Harpal Cheema, Aman Arora, and Baljit Kaur, convened talks last week—leading to a state announcement matching the central government’s 60% DA rate—employees insisted on full settlement of arrears in line with an August 3 Punjab and Haryana high court ruling. The high court had ordered the state to clear all ₹14,191 crore in pending dues within 14 days at a 6% simple interest penalty, while quashing the state’s proposed five-year phased payout plan.
On Monday night, state industries and commerce minister Aman Arora termed the strike illegal, stating that the DA dispute remains sub judice in the Supreme Court. The state government has appealed against the high court verdict before the apex court, arguing that releasing ₹14,191 crore in a fortnight without legislative sanction from the consolidated fund is constitutionally impossible and would collapse public welfare spending.
Arora urged staff not to become political tools or cause public hardship, warning that unlawful disruption would trigger disciplinary action. Union leaders, however, said that peaceful protest is a constitutional right and demanded the withdrawal of show-cause notices issued over the August 27 strike before further talks. They maintained that essential public operations remain unaffected.
The Manch now plans to hold a mock Vidhan Sabha session on September 30, followed by coordinated blockades of ministers’ residences in October.