The Central government has relaxed family pension rules for missing central government employees. Union Minister Jitendra Singh today said that the new norms will be particularly useful for government employees serving in militancy affected areas like Jammu & Kashmir, North-East as well as Naxal prone pockets.
Earlier, the next of the kin of an employee would not receive the family pension, if he went missing and the family pension would not be paid till the missing personnel was declared dead in accordance with the law or till seven years had passed since he went missing.
As per new rules, in all cases where a Government servant covered by NPS goes missing during service, the benefits of family pension will be immediately paid to the family of the missing Government servant and in case he re-appears and resumes service, the amount paid as family pension during the intervening time of his missing period can be accordingly deducted from his salary, a PIB release read.
According to Singh, this is going to provide huge relief particularly in those regions where instances of government employees going missing are reported more frequently. He said, cases of abduction of central government employees working in violence-prone areas have come to the fore and therefore to instill confidence and to protect them and their family interests, the changes in the pension rules were brought about.
The minister informed that if a Government servant covered by the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 goes missing, the benefits of arrears of salary, family pension, retirement gratuity, leave encashment, etc. are paid to the families of the missing employees in accordance with the instructions issued dated 25.06.2013.
“The matter has been examined in consultation with Department of Personnel and Training, Department of Financial Services and Department of Expenditure and considering the hardship faced by the family of such Government servants, it has been decided to extend the benefits of this Department’s OM No. 1/17/2011-P&PW (E) dated 25.06.2013 to the families of Government servants covered by NPS who go missing during service,” Singh added.