With the 15-day deadline set by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for releasing pending dearness allowance (DA) arrears to government employees and pensioners ending tomorrow, the Punjab Finance Department today directed all heads of departments not to release any arrears.The 15-day deadline given to the Punjab Government to release the pending arrears ends on August 18.Employees and pensioners have been demanding immediate implementation of the court order. However, the government is scheduled to meet employee representatives on August 27 to discuss the issue further and seek an amicable solution.Payment of the arrears is expected to entail an expenditure of thousands of crores of rupees, a burden the cash-strapped state government is currently struggling to meet.


