Jaipur, Feb 27 (PTI) More than three lakh Rajasthan government employees, who were appointed on or after January 1, 2004, will be covered under the old pension scheme announced by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the state budget.
Terming the decision a humanitarian move, Gehlot said it was a long-pending demand of the employees and will provide them social security post retirement. He said the old pension scheme is in the interest of the employees and their families.
In the state budget presented on February 23, Gehlot had announced that the old pension scheme will be revived, which has received an overwhelming response from the state government employees and their unions.
The chief minister said it will serve two purposes.
“It will not only provide social security to the employees, but will also motivate them to work with full dedication, thereby delivering good performance and good governance,” he told PTI.
Gehlot said it is not appropriate to have two categories in terms of pension for the employees who work for the state.
“Two pension schemes — the old one and the new one — are creating discrimination. Due to this, the efficiency of the new employees gets affected. It is also the responsibility of the government to provide social security to its employees and therefore, I took the decision,” he said.
The pension scheme for government employees was discontinued in the country from April 1, 2004 and the new National Pension Scheme (NPS) was implemented.
“A comparison of both the schemes makes it clear that the new scheme cannot provide social security to the employees and their families in any way. Uncertainty about the future led to dissatisfaction among the employees,” Gehlot said.
At present, there are about three lakh employees in Rajasthan who will now be covered under the old pension scheme.
In the new scheme, the pension amount for the employees is completely market dependent.
Employees say under the old scheme, they will get 50 per cent of the last-drawn salary as pension every month, whereas in the new scheme, it is uncertain. “There was a lot of insecurity about the future among the employees and dissatisfaction started growing across the country. This also adversely affected the functioning of the governments.
“When the move was taken in Rajasthan, it created pressure on the other states. The Centre and the other states should also follow the initiative taken by Rajasthan in the interest of the employees,” said a state government employee.
Gehlot said it is the duty of a government to provide security to its employees by guaranteeing them a certain amount of pension after their retirement.
He said while implementing the old scheme, the development work of the government will continue.
State-level committees have been formed to review the new pension scheme in many states, including Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
The 2018 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) also noted that the new pension scheme has failed to provide the decades-old socio-economic security.
Similarly, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended to the Centre to constitute a committee to review the new pension system. It is also a valid principle that a facility once provided to the working class is generally not withdrawn.
After the implementation of the new pension system, those who retired on or after April 1, 2004 have either not received any pension or have received a very small amount.
A large number of state government employees have expressed gratitude to the chief minister for the decision.
Delegations of the Rashtriya Andolan Samiti, the Roadways Karamchari-Adhikari Sangh, the Akhil Rajasthan SC-ST-OBC Adhikari-Karamchari Sanyukt Mahasangh, the Rajasthan Rajya Mantralayik Karamchari Mahasangh, Ajmer, the Akhil Rajasthan Lab Technicians Sangh, the Panchayati Raj Mantralayik Karamchari Sangh, the Rajasthan Mantralayik Karamchari Sangh and the New Pension Scheme Employees’ Federation have met Gehlot over the last two days to thank him. PTI AG SDA RC
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