Class-III Pensioners to Receive 30% Arrears, Class-I & II 15% in October
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that Class-III pensioners would receive 30 percent of their pension arrears, while Class-I and Class-II pensioners would receive 15 percent of their pension arrears in October this year, who have retired between 1st January, 2016 and 31st December, 2022.
Addressing a meeting with the Himachal Pradesh Pensioners’ Joint Front here today, the Chief Minister said that the state government was aware of the issues being faced by pensioners and employees and was making earnest efforts to resolve them. He said that the state government had been releasing financial benefits to employees and pensioners from time to time, and was also considering releasing another instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) in the coming period.
He said that directions had been issued to all departments to clear pending medical reimbursement claims of pensioners. He added that the arrears of all pensioners above 65 years of age had already been cleared by the government.
Sh. Sukhu said that pensioners had played an important role in the development of the state and made valuable contributions to Himachal Pradesh’s progress. He said that the state government had restored the Old Pension Scheme for its employees without any political motive, with the objective of ensuring that employees could lead a dignified life after retirement.
The Chief Minister said that when the Congress government assumed office, the previous BJP government had left a debt burden of Rs. 76,000 crore in addition to liabilities of around Rs. 10,000 crore towards employees and pensioners. He said that Himachal Pradesh had been receiving Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) since 1952, but the 16th Finance Commission had discontinued this 77-year-old entitlement. He said that RDG was not merely an entitlement of the state government but a right of the people of Himachal Pradesh. He said that imagine what would happen if Rs. 40,000 were deducted from an annual income of Rs. one lakh. This is the situation being faced by Himachal Pradesh. The state is losing Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 10,000 crore every year,’ he said.
The Chief Minister said that the previous BJP government had received Rs. 54,000 crore as RDG and Rs. 16,000 crore as GST compensation during its five-year tenure. He said that had the previous government maintained financial discipline, the state’s debt could have been reduced by around Rs. 30,000 crore and the liabilities towards employees could also have been cleared. He said that the previous BJP government had constructed buildings worth around Rs. 1,000 crore across the state, many of which were lying vacant. In comparison, the present Congress government had received Rs. 17,000 crore as RDG during last three years and was moving forward with financial discipline.
Sh. Sukhu said that every decision being taken by the state government was aimed at making Himachal Pradesh self-reliant and strengthening its financial position.
President of the Himachal Pradesh Pensioner’s Joint Front, Atma Ram Sharma, said that the present state government had taken several steps in the interest of pensioners and expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for the same.
Office-bearers of the Joint Front and a large number of pensioners were present at the meeting.
