New Delhi: The BJP-led West Bengal government has informed the Supreme Court that it is unable to clear 100% of the pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears for state government employees due to financial constraints, according to a status report filed before the apex court.

The report, submitted on Wednesday ahead of the scheduled hearing, seeks the court's permission to pay 85% of the outstanding DA arrears, while requesting relief from paying the remaining 15%.

The government has assured the court that the arrears will be cleared in four instalments by 2028.

The matter was listed for hearing on Thursday. However, the hearing did not take place after the case was deferred owing to the constitution of a new bench.

In its submission, the state government said the burden on the state exchequer makes it financially unviable to release the entire pending DA amount at one go.

It urged the court to consider its proposal in light of the state's fiscal position. The development comes days after Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari reiterated his government's commitment to narrowing the DA gap between West Bengal employees and their Central government counterparts.

'We will gradually bridge the gap with the Centre. Many expected us to announce 42%, while others claimed it would be only 10%. We have done neither. We have calculated it carefully and will make up the difference in the coming days,' Adhikari had said.

Meanwhile, the state government has also constituted the Seventh Pay Commission, fulfilling another election promise. As per a notification issued by Nabanna, the commission will review salaries, allowances, DA and other service benefits of state government employees.

It will also examine the existing DA structure and recommend a revised pay framework aligned with the new pay commission's recommendations.