Chandigarh, Aug. 4 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday directed the Punjab government to clear pending dearness allowance (DA) of employees and pensioners within a fortnight.

The high court bench of acting chief justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and justice Rohit Kapoor also ordered that till all such dues are cleared, the government would not "resort to any unproductive expenditures", such as large-scale advertising campaigns in print or social media, as these expenses cannot justify the denial of dues admissible to state employees. In default, the unpaid amounts would carry 6% interest per annum. The chief secretary has been asked to ensure scrupulous compliance and file an affidavit about it by August 31.

According to the state...