Agartala, June 26: The long-pending legal battle over regular pay, allowances and service benefits for teachers from the date of their appointment remained unresolved after the Tripura government declined to accept a settlement proposal during proceedings before the Supreme Court’s Special Lok Adalat.
The hearing was held at the chamber of Ramanuj Bhattacharya, Secretary of the West Tripura District Legal Services Authority, where officials representing the state’s Education and Finance Departments refused to agree to a compromise.
Speaking after the hearing, teachers’ representative Badal Pal said the government made it clear that it would abide by the Supreme Court’s final judgment but was not willing to settle the matter through the Lok Adalat mechanism.
“The government representatives stated that they would accept whatever verdict the Supreme Court ultimately delivers, but they declined to agree to a compromise before the Special Lok Adalat,” Pal said.
The dispute relates to the demand of teachers appointed through the Teachers’ Recruitment Board, Tripura (TRBT), for regular pay scales, allowances and other service benefits from the first day of their appointment.
On January 8 this year, the Tripura High Court ruled in favour of the teachers, directing that they be treated as regular employees from the date of joining service. However, the state government challenged the High Court’s order before the Supreme Court, contending that implementing the judgment would impose a substantial financial burden on the state exchequer in view of Tripura’s prevailing fiscal constraints.
During the pendency of the appeal, the matter was referred to the Supreme Court’s Special Lok Adalat to explore the possibility of an amicable settlement. However, with the government refusing to accept the compromise proposal, the case will now continue before the apex court for final adjudication.
Teacher organisations expressed disappointment over the failure to reach a settlement and reiterated their demand for immediate implementation of the High Court’s order. They argued that the affected teachers were recruited through a regular selection process against permanent posts and have been performing the same duties as regular employees for years, yet continue to be denied full salary, allowances and other service benefits.
The organisations urged the government to resolve the issue at the earliest, stating that thousands of teachers continue to await justice and financial security.
