Restoration of old pension sought

Tribune News Service

Solan, January 14

Demanding restoration of old pension, members of the District New Pension Scheme (NPS) Employees Association met at Dharampur on Saturday and said a protest rally would be organised in Shimla and Delhi if their demands were not met and all-India chain hunger strike would also begin from January 28.

The association rued that Himachal was the first state to implement the NPS for the employees who were appointed or regularised after May 15, 2003 despite the Centre implementing it from January 2004.

The association’s spokesman, Desh Raj, said the scheme was akin to being a no pension scheme as the employees who were retiring after its implementation were at the mercy of the private companies for pension. A meagre amount ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 was being fixed for lifetime of the employees in contrast to the old pension scheme.

The employees, drawn from various departments, lamented that despite several representations to the state and the Centre in the past three years against this scheme, little had been done to address their woes. They said though the CM had assured the agitating employees on December 14, 2018 at Dharamsala that the benefits of the old pension scheme would be extended to the families of the NPS employees who became disabled or died during service, but no such notification had been issued so far.