In a post on X, the TMC Supremo Mamata Banerjee said, “I am happy to announce that our Ma-Mati-Manush government has delivered on its promise to all its employees and pensioners, and to lakhs of teachers and non-teaching staff of our educational institutions, as well as employees/ pensioners of our other grant-in-aid institution like panchayats, municipal bodies, other local bodies etc. They will start receiving their ROPA 2009 DA arrears from March 2026 onwards as per the modalities detailed out in the Notifications issued by our Finance Department.”

The DA announcement comes amid an ongoing massive face-off between the state government and its employees that has reached the Supreme Court. The employees had initially moved the Calcutta High Court seeking Dearness allowance parity with the Central govt staff, including arrears. The matter was brought before the top court through Calcutta High Court and the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT).

The Model Code of Conduct, which is a set of restrictive guidelines, will take effect this evening after the ECI announces voting dates, enabling West Bengal and other states to prepare for the official start of the election cycle. Notably. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, will announce the schedule for the upcoming assembly polls