Kolkata, Jan 28 (PTI) The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will be suspending disbursement of pension for a section of retired employees from next month, primarily due to severe financial crisis.
According to a notification issued by the KMC, the civic body has decided to withhold pension of those who have superannuated last September and thereafter.
Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim, however, said he was not aware of any such notification, and no such measure was being taken.
“Payments of pension and other benefits (to the retired employees who have superannuated in September 2021 and after that) are not (being) released currently due to crisis of funds,” the notification maintained.
Sources in the KMC said that the decision was taken as the civic body’s revenue generation has been badly hit owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had to take this decision as KMC’s revenue generation has been hit hard due to the pandemic. We will review the situation soon and take a further call on the matter in some time,” a top official of the civic body said.
Mayor Firhad Hakim, however, said that he wasn’t aware of any such notice and an investigation would be carried out to find out who put up the notice.
“Those supposed to get pension are getting them. Some are in the process of getting it… might take some time. It is being investigated who gave this notice. We have a burden on us, but that doesn’t mean that pension will be stopped,” Hakim said.
Incidentally, Hakim, on the day of taking oath as the city mayor, had admitted that the civic body has a debt burden of around Rs 600 crore. PTI SCH RMS RMS
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