Chandigarh, July 9 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the PSPCL managing director to file an affidavit clarifying whether the corporation takes independent decisions regarding release of Dearness Allowance (DA) to its employees or is following the Punjab government's decision in respect of its employees. The directions from the bench of acting chief justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and justice Rohit Kapoor came during the hearing of an appeal filed by the Punjab government and PSPCL against a single-judge bench's April 8 order. In its order, the single-judge bench had directed the state to pay pending DA to employees and pensioners by June 30 on par with rates paid to All India Services (IAS/IPS/IFS) officers on central government pattern, a deadline the government has failed to meet. If released, the DA's financial liability is estimated at Rs.14,191. The government had given a liquidation plan according to which these benefits were to be released up to 2028 in a phased manner. However, the single-judge bench did not accept it and gave a deadline of June 30. The PSPCL argument is that there are independent rules and regulations for its employees and thus, it is aggrieved by the April 8 order. The division bench, however, observed that PSPCL, while being an independent autonomous body created by the state, had consistently followed the policy and decisions of the state government in the matter of DA payment. The hearing will resume on Thursday.HTC...