Andhra teachers' body demands immediate release of CPS DA arrears, with interest

The Navya Andhra Teachers Association (NTA) has urged the Andhra Pradesh government to immediately release pending Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears owed to employees covered under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), along with interest to compensate for the delay in payment.

In a release, NTA State president Karanam Harikrishna and State general secretary Maganti Srinivasa Rao said it was not justifiable that DA arrears remained unpaid in full even after the deadlines set by the government for instalment-based payments had expired. The association said it had submitted a representation to the principal secretary of the State Finance Department seeking immediate clearance of the outstanding dues and appropriate interest on delayed payments.

The association pointed out that payment deadlines stipulated under various government orders, including G.O. Ms. Nos. 66, 113, 28 and 30, had already passed, yet some CPS employees had not received their arrears in full. It called for a review of the instalments due in April and August this year and urged the government to release the pending amounts without further delay.

Under the Contributory Pension Scheme, employees and the government contribute to individual retirement accounts identified by a Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN). Dearness Allowance revisions are usually notified with retrospective effect and disbursed in instalments, a practice that can leave arrears outstanding for months or years. The NTA said some CPS employees were owed arrears amounting to lakhs of rupees.

Questioning the purpose of deadlines if payments were not made within the stipulated periods, the association appealed to the government to consider employees' financial difficulties and release the instalments scheduled for 2027 and 2028 ahead of schedule. It argued that had the amounts been paid on time, employees could have used the money for savings or investments and earned interest on it.

Citing a Supreme Court ruling directing the Andhra Pradesh government to pay simple interest at 6 per cent per annum on salaries and pensions deferred in 2021, the association asked the government to examine whether similar interest or appropriate financial compensation could be provided for delayed DA arrears. The NTA also sought employee-wise details of DA arrears due, amounts already paid, pending instalments and credits made to individual PRAN accounts.

The association leaders urged the government to prioritise overdue payments, announce a clear schedule for the remaining instalments and take a favourable decision on interest for delayed payments. The demands relate only to payment timelines and interest on dues; the association has not called for any change to the pension scheme itself.

The NTA's representation adds to a longer-running demand from employee associations in the State for time-bound disbursal of DA dues. Teachers' bodies have repeatedly argued that staggered payment schedules push arrears well beyond the financial year in which they fall due, making it difficult for employees to plan savings and investments. The association has said it will continue to press the Finance Department for a written commitment on the payment calendar.