Punjab pensioners move High Court for arrears

Chandigarh, June 16

Nearly one-and-a-half years after the Punjab Government decided to revise the pension and other retirement benefits of those superannuating after January 2016, no less than 153 employees of the Education Department have approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court for disbursement of arrears.

Prem Chawla and other petitioners have contended that the government on October 29, 2021, among other things, decided to release the arrears of pension due from January 1, 2016, to June 30, 2021, in the “due course of time”.

In the petition placed before the Bench of Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri, their counsel contended that the petitioner-employees retired between January 2016 and June 2021. The retrial benefits, including pension and gratuity, were disbursed at the time of their superannuation under the provisions of the Punjab Civil Services Rules.

The government on July 5, 2021, issued a notification revising the pay of its employees with effect from January 1, 2016, on the recommendations of sixth Punjab Pay Commission. A separate notification was issued on October 19, 2021, by the Finance Department granting the revision of pay and consequential pensionary benefits to the post-January 2016 retirees. It was decided that they would get the revised pension in cash from July 1, 2021. But the decision regarding disbursement of arrears from January 1, 2016, to June 30, 2021, following the revision was kept on hold.