Plight
of retiring employees
Sir,
To obviate
delay in the finalization of pension
cases of retiring government servants and
ensure payment of on the first day of the
month following to the date of their
retirement, the Jammu and Kashmir
Government simplified the rules and
procedures relating to the Grant of
Pension vide SRO 45 of 1980 dated
29.1.1980. The rules and procedures are
also embodied in the relevant chapters of
Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service
Regulations.
These
rules and procedures have been repeatedly
and no several occasions reiterated by
the Finance Department through circulars
and communications issued to Heads of
offices, Departments or Accountant
General emphasising upon them for
strictly adhering to the time scheduled
and instructions as referred to above at
paras (i) to (v). Neither Heads of
offices nor the Accountant General have
ever translated these rules and procedure
in letter and spirit. There may be
countless cases of the nature that have
not been processed even after retirement
of Government servants.
It has
been general practice with the Heads of
offices or other offices responsible for
the preparation of pension cases that
they initiate pension cases of the
retiring Government servants either in
the last spell of six months or even
later stage which are generally sent to
AG or processed in that office after the
actual date of retirement. The retiring
Govt. servants seldom get their pension
or other pensionary benefits on the first
day of the month following to the date of
their retirement. The reason being the
non completion of service books by the
DDOs/Heads of offices, gap in service
verification etc. and delay in the issue
of "No Demand Certificate" or
issue of no Demand Certificate on
provisional basis by the concerned
offices, which are legally unsound. The
provisional NDCs are seldom entertained
by the AG. The retirement Govt. Servants
have thus to go through unwarranted
ordeals and also face financial hardships
which had never been the intention of the
Government.
Not to
speak of the delay on the part of the
Heads of offices, the Accountant General
has also not been much generous towards
this hapless section of the society. He
is also taking his own time in the
scrutiny of pension papers and issue of
PPO/GPO in favour of the retiring
Government servants. There may be hardly
any case when PPO/GPO has been issued one
month earlier to the date of retirement
of an individual or even one month after
such date. The Accountant General, as
usual, scrutinise the whole service
record and not only point out
discrepansies in service records, even
extend the scrutiny of pay fixation for
the period not to twenty four months
which is quite contrary of the rules and
instructions issued by the Government in
terms of provisions of Article 242 of
Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service
Regulation volume I. All these scrutinies
result in the belated finalization of
pension cases and add to woes of the
retiring, retired Government servants.
In face of
the what has been stated above, it is
imperative that the Government may review
the entire rules and regulations and
procedures at different levels and issue
necessary set of instructions afresh
emphasising upon all concerned to observe
strictly the rules and procedures as
mentioned above in its earnest
perspective and also devise measures for
monitoring the pending pension cases
periodically and find out solution of
their timely disposal.
Yours
etc...
Sain Das Sumbria
Jammu
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