Local women have alleged that they were threatened by BJD leaders that they will not be provided Indira Awas Yojana benefits and pension if they do not attend the padyatra.
The ruling party leaders offered Rs 15,000 to every self-help group for participation in the rally, the women alleged.
"We took part in the rally as they said they will provide us some pension and bring us under the ambit of Indira Awas Yojana," a woman complainant said.
On the other hand, Bhapur BJD president refuted the allegations.
"Women have joined the rally without any force and no self-help groups have been approached. All the allegations are baseless," BJD president of Bhapur block, Gayadhar Parida, said.
According to sources, Finance Minister Shashibhushan Behera today approved a proposal of the Finance department to release pension arrears for the period January 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017.
Earlier this year in March, Odisha government had decided to clear arrears of government employees pending from January 1, 2016 on account of retrospective implementation of 7th Pay Commission’s recommendations.
While the state government had decided to clear 100 percent arrears of pensioners, other employees received 40 per cent of their arrears.
Moreover, on March 1, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had ordered for a revision of salary of employees of State PSUs as per the recommendations of the pay panel. Besides, he had also announced a hike in remuneration of contractual employees by about 25 per cent.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the payment through banks would cause unavoidable hardship to the beneficiaries. "Any imposition of the system of bank payment will cause undue and unavoidable hardship to the vulnerable beneficiaries. I am sanguine you would appreciate the special circumstances of the State and not impose conditions on release of funds which may militate against the interest of the beneficiaries," Patnaik stated.
The letter further read that disbursement of pension in cash serves the purpose of beneficiaries in view of fragile nature of banking network and telecommunication prevailing in the State. It clarified that NSAP guidelines clearly stated that disbursement of pension must be done as per the choice and convenience of the beneficiaries.
The CM said the State has conducted a study of the beneficiaries and found that pensioners are not willing to accept pension through banks and post offices.
He further apprised the PM that 4,376 Gram Panchayats in Odisha have no banking facilities. Even the existing banks are unable to bear the burden of large number of pensioners due to acute staff shortage.
The State has been disbursing pension in cash on 15th of every month at the Gram Panchayats and ULB headquarters. The Centre on November 15 wrote to the State government asking it to switch over to DBT compliant system for disbursement of pension.
https://youtu.be/ArYCn8wGoGs
Under the e-governance applications of the Finance Department, the new pension application – Arpana can be used by pensioners to apply for their revised pension online using their Aadhaar number. The app can be used for online generation of sanction orders and delivery of services to pensioners and public, said CM Patnaik during the launch of the app at the Secretariat here.
“With Arpana, pensioners can apply online for revision of pension and track the status of their application. It will be of great help for senior citizens who can get their dues in hassle free and time bound manner,” said Patnaik.
Pension holders can use the app to find out their revised pay after the implementation of 7th Pay Commission by the State government.
Apart from Arpana, the CM also launched IFMS application system that is designed with Integrated Financial Management to assist State government employees who are about to retire from their services. It will help them apply for pension online.
In a fresh allegation from Bolangir district, beneficiaries at Semelpali village under Belpara block were forced to pay the Gram Rozgar Sewak (GRS) of their panchayat to enlist their names for receiving old age pension and other facilities.
Talking to OTV, a beneficiary Kumari Kumbhar said, "He asked for money saying we will be able to get pension from that month onwards. We sold our valuables to collect the money and paid him Rs 300 each. Even after two years he did not return our money nor did we receive the pension."
When contacted, Belpara BDO Priyadarshini Mirdha said, "We do not have any such information on the issue but as it has been alleged an enquiry will be done on it."
Due to a similar demand of percentage in Sambalpur district, Umakanti Bariha of Lapada village under Bamra district suffered for months to get a house under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). As per her allegation the GRS of their panchayat had demanded Rs 5000 to give the work order to avail the benefit. Unable to pay the amount Umakanti did not receive the work order for six months.
It was only after reporting the matter to the Bamra BDO that Umakanti was able to get the work order.
Meanwhile, the BDO has said that a show cause notice has been issued and action will be taken after proper investigation.
"We came to know that the GRS had not provided the work order, which he was forced to give after our instruction. We have issued a show cause notice against him, a proper investigation will be done after receiving the reply and the DRDA will be apprised about it,” said Bamra BDO Lankeswar Amat.
Announcing the decision of the government today, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said his government has always given top priority to the social security of the poor people to ensure a smile on their faces.
Stating that old men and women, widows and physically challenged persons have the right to live with dignity in the society, he said at present about 40 lakh beneficiaries are availing the benefits of various social security pension schemes.
“My aim is to include all eligible beneficiaries in the social security network. I am keen to announce that the state government has decided to include three lakh more beneficiaries in the social security pension schemes for which I have asked the concerned department to complete the process of selection of beneficiaries by August 15. The state government will spend an additional Rs 115 crore from its exchequer,” the chief minister said.
Scholarships were announced for the children of construction and unorganized sector workers studying in high school. The government has decided to provide Rs 2000 per annum scholarship for Class VIII students, while Class IX and Class X students will get Rs 3000, Rs 4000 pa respectively.
“For the welfare of construction and other unorganized workers of the State, pension at par with Madhu Babu Pension Yojana will be given to registered construction workers of 60 years and above. Scholarships will be given to children of construction worker families studying in class VIII worth Rs 2000 per annum, Class IX worth Rs 3000 per annum, and Class X worth Rs 4000 per annum. One time cash reward of Rs 10000 will be awarded to meritorious Class X students of construction worker families, who pass with 90% and above. Girl students of construction worker families will be given cash incentives worth Rs 2000 per year. Cash incentives given to pregnant and nursing mothers of construction families will be enhanced from Rs 8000 to Rs 10000, over and above the assistance given under the Mamta Yojana. Scale of assistance under Nirman Sramik Pucca Ghar Yojana will be enhanced by Rs 20,000 over and above MGNREGS and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan incentives thereby enhancing the construction assistance for each house to Rs 1.5 lakh. Medical assistance of Rs 3 lakh for treatment of nervous disorders, cardio vascular diseases, kidney problems, cancer and orthopedic disorders will now be given to construction workers when registered for at least one year with the board. Besides the provision of funds worth Rs 5 crore has been made for the implementation of programs under Unorganized Workers Social Security Act,” said Naveen Patnaik
"My government is committed for all round welfare of the construction workers as well as workers in the unorganized sector and will continue to do so," Patnaik added.
According to sources, farmers from across the state took out of a rally after gathering in large numbers at Cuttack railway station yesterday.
“The government should not run away from its responsibilities. It needs to admit the suicide of farmers and compensate the next of kin of the deceased. Besides, we demand of Rs 5, 000 per month pension scheme for 36 lakh farmers so that their future is taken care of,” said NKS leader and Aama Odisha Party (AOP) President Soumya Ranjan Patnaik.
The farmers are set to hold a large demonstration at Lower PMG Square here after a night halt near Hanspal to press their long pending demands such as implementation of pension scheme for farmers , payment of compensation to the kin of farmers who committed suicide, higher minimum support price, better procurement facilities, better social accord and drought compensation, among others, sources added.
“We are demanding that the government should give pension to farmers from the age of 20. Besides, we are holding this huge rally to ensure prestige, price and pension for all farmers across the state,” said Seshadeb Nanda, a member of the association.
Meanwhile, the BJD defended the state government saying it has actively supported farmers through various schemes.
“The state government has fixed minimum support price for farmers and at different points of time, government takes steps to provide more bonus and financial assistance. So, there is no point in pressing demands like this,” said BJD spokesperson Rabinarayan Nanda.
The apex court said the State was "obligated to ensure" that the right to live with dignity that includes reasonable shelter, health care, clothing and meaningful pension for elderly people without any means was "not only protected but are enforced and made available to all citizens".
Noting that in real terms the value of Rs 200 being given as pension to elderly people since 2007 today stands at about Rs 92, the bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta in their judgement said the provision for basic necessities which includes, nutrition, clothing and shelter can be made only if the elderly are provided with some pension which is meaningful and not pension which is equivalent to Rs 92 per month.
If the current value of the rupee is taken into consideration, the amount of Rs 200 in real terms actually works out to about 92 per month on the lower scale.
The court directed the Centre and states to revisit the grant of pension to the elderly so that it is more "realistic".
It said the schemes which are "comparatively dated" should be re-looked and overhauled to bring about convergence and avoid multiplicity.
The court said this as it issued a number of directions for the enforcement of pension for the elderly, shelter, geriatric care and medical facilities and the effective implementation of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.
Addressing the question of the limited capacity of the State in meeting the expenses of the welfare measures for the elderly people, the court said: "The consideration of 'economic budgeting' by the Centre and states must have been taken into account while enacting the legislation."
Speaking for the bench, Justice Lokur said "there cannot be any excuse of lack of finances" either by the Central or state governments in "strictly implementing the provisions of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007".
In short, the court said, if not the constitutional then at least the statutory rights of elderly persons must be recognised and implemented.
The court also directed that the Central government should obtain necessary information from all states and union territories on the number of old age homes in each district.
The Central government, the court said, would also obtain information on the medical facilities and geriatric care facilities that are available to senior citizens in each district.
Referring to the provisions of the MWP Act, the court directed the Centre to exercise its power and issue appropriate directions to the States for the effective implementation of the provisions of the MWP Act and monitor its execution.
As the court has decided to monitor the implementation of its directions, the Centre was directed to file a status report by January 31, 2019.
"The plea is dismissed," said a bench of Justice J. Chelameswar and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul pointing out that the authority of Parliament is wide enough to cover the provision of the Salaries, Allowances, and Pension of Members of Parliament 1954 providing for pension and other allowances to former parliamentarians and their spouses, including unlimited free travel.
The terms and conditions, including grant of pension and other benefits, of a constitutional office to which a person is appointed or elected is a matter of policy choice and the "appropriate legislature would be the constitutionally designated authority to determine" the same, the judgment said.
Pointing out that there is no provision in the Constitution for pension and other benefits for the President, Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Parliament or state legislature, Union and state Ministers but the same are provided by law, it rejected the NGO's submission that the silence in Constitution's Article 106, dealing with salaries and allowances of MPs, operates as a prohibition for pensions to former MPs.
The judgment quoted the Constitution's principal architect B.R. Ambedkar and Constituent Assembly member K.T. Shah who had during a constituent assembly debate favoured pension for the people holding high constitutional office including lawmakers.
It said Ambedkar called the idea "laudable" and cited the British Parliament which has the same provision while Shah had described pension as a deferred wage which a worker did not get while at work, saying that the "analogy will hold here also".
Speaking for the bench, Justice Chelameswar observed: "The fact that there are express references to the payment of pensions in the Constitution for certain Constitutional functionaries and not for others, in our opinion does not lead to the conclusion that the Constitution by its silence prohibits the payment of pension to those constitutional functionaries."
"The framers of the Constitution believed that certain offices required a higher degree of protection, having regard to the greater degree of independence expected of the holders of their offices. The framers knew history and the attempts of the men in power to subjugate the holders of such office.
"Safeguards, therefore, were provided in respect of the various aspects of the tenure and other conditions of service relevant for their offices," the court said pointing out: "When it comes to MPs, however, such a higher degree of constitutional protection is not obviously required as the authority to make laws rests only with them."
"We are of the opinion that, on a true and proper construction of the text of those provisions, they do not mandate the payment of pension. They only protect the pension if payable under the relevant law applicable on the date of appointment of a person to any one of those offices by declaring that such a condition could not be altered to the detriment of a person subsequent to his appointment," the judgment said.
Lok Prahari had challenged the constitutional validity of various amendments by which former parliamentarians were given pensions including family pension benefits and allowances that extended to their associates as well.
The NGO, which had also challenged the rejection of its plea by the Allahabad High Court, contended that the pension and other benefits extended to former lawmakers were violative of the Constitution's Article 14 as being discriminatory.
The Central government recently made several major announcements in order to give relief to its employees and pensioners amid this Covid pandemic. These key announcements are likely to benefit nearly 52 lakh central government employees and around 60 lakh pensioners.
Let's take a look at the major 5 schemes that will benefit as many as 1.12 crore employees and pensioners:
DR and DA Restoration
The Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) of central government employees and pensioners is stuck for the past one and half years. But the benefits are now expected to come by September 2021. Union Minister Anurag Thakur had earlier informed that the Centre would restore 7th Pay Commission DA and DR benefits of the central government employees and pensioners respectively from 1st July 2021. However, that was again put on hold due to reasons unknown. Meanwhile, National Council of JCM, which is a Government of India-recognised platform that fights for the cause of central government employees, said that the government is considering restoration of DA and DR benefits from September 2021.
House Building Advance (HBA)
The Central Government has updated the House Building Advance (HBA) for its employees. This updated scheme will help all those employees who want to construct their own house. The central government had reduced the interest rate of HBA to 7.9 percent and this benefit will be available till 31st March 2022.
Pension Benefits
The Finance Ministry has simplified the family pension rules for central government servants. As per the updated rules of family pension, benefits would be extended as soon as the death certificate is received. Eligible family member will no longer have to wait for other formalities or procedural requirements to be completed.
Receive Pension Slip Via email, SMS, WhatsApp
This comes as a big relief for the central government pensioners as they are no longer required to go to banks for pension slips. With an aim to ensure 'Ease of Living' for all the pensioners, the Central Government recently directed the pension disbursing banks to issue pension slip to the pensioners through their email, SMS, WhatsApp along with a complete break-up. The orders came into effect from 1st July 2021.
Traveling Allowance (TA)
The Centre recently made several announcements for retired government employees. Retired employees will now get 180 days time to give details of their Travelling Allowance (TA) as the government has extended the time-limit for submission of Travelling Allowance claims from 60 days to 180 days. This new rule has come into effect from 15th June 2021.
A proposal to increase the pension amount from Rs 1,000 a month to Rs 6,000 a month was approved by finance minister S B Behera here today.
About 483 persons will be benefited from the government's decision.
The state government felt that the amount should be hiked keeping in view the market price, Behera said.
The state will now spent Rs 29 lakh per annum in this regard, he added.
The incident happened in Kokipada village under Cuttack Sadar police station late last night.
Police said that Fakir Mohanty (62), a former government employee, had been thrown out of his house in the village by his wife and their 26-year-old son and he was staying in a slum in Bhubaneswar.
On Saturday, when Mohanty had come to the village to collect his old-age pension, his son and wife picked up a quarrel with him demanding money.
When he refused to part with it, the mother-son duo allegedly thrashed Fakir with bamboo stick and iron rod killing him in their house, police said.
The woman was arrested but her son was absconding.
Demanding fulfilment of an 18-point charter of demands, farmers from 11 blocks of Puri district took out a rally from Gundicha Temple to Puri Collectorate. The agitating farmers also submitted a memorandum to the district Collector addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Farmers alleged that despite allocations in the state budget, they are not getting any benefits.
"We demand that the farmers should be provided with Rs 1500 old age pension monthly. Moreover, a farmer protection allowance of Rs 5000 per month should given to 36 lakh farmers which would require a budgetary allocation of Rs 21,600 crore," said farmer leader, Akshay Kumar.
"They have submitted their demands to the Chief Minister through the district Collector. Those demands that can be addressed at our level will be sorted out and for others, the CM will be apprised," informed Puri Sub Collector, Uddhav Charan Sahoo.
The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be Rs 6112.20 crore per annum and Rs 4074.80 crore in the financial year 2018-19 (for a period of 8 months from July, 2018 to February, 2019).
This will benefit about 48.41 lakh Central Government employees and 62.03 lakh pensioners, sources said.
"The government is taking away the basic rights from the farmers and which is why we have called for a bandh on February 21. We have urged political parties, industry bodies, intellectuals and people from other walks of life to support the shutdown," Kumar said.
Earlier on February 11, NNKS launched protests at several places across the state protesting government’s callous attitude towards their long-standing demands.
Similarly, on February 6, tension had erupted at different places across the State when thousands of farmers were taken into preventive custody while they were on their way to attend a mega rally organised by NNKS in Bhubaneswar.
The farming community has been demanding a social security allowance of Rs 5000 per month for nearly 36 lakh farmers of the State with an annual budgetary allocation of Rs 21,600 crore.
State BJP President Basant Panda said the saffron party will extend support to NNKS, which has been demanding pension and proper price to the agricultural produce. “The farmers have the right to express their opinion and protest in a democracy. The state government has time and again tried to throttle the voice of the farmers. We will protest the anti-farmer policies,” said Panda.
Similarly, OPCC chief Niranjan Patnaik today informed that the Congress party would support the bandh called by NNKS while claiming that empowerment of the farmers remains top priority of the Congress.
Meanwhile in Kandhamal, the Maoists put up posters near Budaguda chhak in Baliguda area supporting the bandh. A few other posters were found in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been held responsible for the Pulwama attack.
The Odisha government has urged NNKS to desist from going on Odisha bandh on 21st February.
Odisha Govt urged Naba Nirman Krushak Sangathan to desist from going on Odisha bandh on 21st February, a day before Matriculation Exam, which would inconvenience examinees, parents and teachers and disrupt movement of questions papers.
— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) February 19, 2019
State Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera said, "The Opposition parties don't have any other issue to raise. Odisha government is trying to fulfill the demands of the farmers & the bandh call given by NNKS will cause inconvenience for the students appearing matriculation exam."
The NNKS has called for a statewide bandh on February 21 to protect the interest of farmers. The outfit has been demanding price, prestige and pension for the farmers in the state. They have been demanding a security allowance of Rs 5,000 per month for the farmers. They have also sought cooperation from truck and bus associations urging them to keep their vehicles off the road during the bandh.
Later in the day, Odisha government in a statement stated that it had appealed Naba Nirmak Krushak Sangathan yesterday to desist from the agitation in the interest of nearly 6 lakh students and their parents who are gearing up for the annual matriculation examination starting from February 22.
“If the sangathan still persists with their planned Bandh programme, the State government will be compelled to take all necessary measures to ensure smooth conduct of the examination. Action will be taken as per provisions of Law. It is hoped that the organisers will realise their action could cause inconvinence to public especially to the students’ community and withdraw their bandh call in larger public interest,” Odisha government said in a statement.
After OTV’s report about administrative intrusion of Andhra Pradesh in the villages of Kotia panchayat, Odisha government took steps to ensure basic facilities like proper roads, electricity supply and provision of water supply. On the other hand, by rolling out several schemes like pension for senior citizens and providing free food supplements to children, the Andhra Pradesh government is leaving no stone unturned to sway the residents of Kotia.
“Andhra Pradesh government is providing many facilities including monthly pension of Rs 1000 as compared to Rs 300 by the Odisha government,” a Kotia resident, Luka Pangi said.
As per reports, the villagers of Kotia have voter cards of both the states. Polling booths for Odisha Assembly elections have been set up at a distance of 5 to 6 kms from the villages. While villagers allege that there are no proper roads connecting 21 villages, it is being apprehended that local voters may choose to cast their votes at polling booths set up by Andhra Pradesh.
Pottangi BDO, Karunakar Pradhan said, “People are very happy now because of the development works. We hope that they will cast their votes in Odisha.”
Earlier this year, the Andhra government had conducted a ‘Janmabhoomi’ program under which pension and food supplements were distributed to the locals in Kotia. Moreover, villagers were given food security cards by Andhra officials, who also launched Aadhaar enrolment process. Construction work of a check dam was started in Sembi area and a tender has also been floated by the neighbouring state for the construction of a 15-km road connecting Kotia to Tadiwalsa in Andhra Pradesh.
In the first Cabinet meeting, the Modi 2.0 government had decided to extend PM-KISAN scheme to all 14.5 crore farmers in the country costing Rs 87,000 crore a year and also announced over Rs 10,000 crore pension scheme for five crore farmers, thereby fulfilling the BJP's poll promise.
The pension scheme aims to cover around five crore beneficiaries in the first three years.
It will be a voluntary and contributory pension scheme with entry age of 18 to 40 years. The beneficiary can opt to become member of the scheme by subscribing to a pension fund.
"The Central government shall also contribute to the Pension Fund in equal amount. Contribution shall be made to a Pension Fund managed by the LIC which will be responsible for the pension pay out," said an official statement.
"Under the scheme farmers can also opt to allow contribution to be made directly from the benefits drawn from the PM-KISAN scheme. There will be an online grievance redressal system for complete transparency."
The pension scheme for small and marginal farmers will provide a social security net for all such farmers, the ministry said.
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday spoke to Agriculture Ministers of all states and Union Territories regarding rolling out of the pension scheme.
He asked them to create awareness about the scheme.
He also asked the ministers to expedite the process of enrolment of all eligible farmers in a time-bound manner so that the benefit under PM-KISAN for the period from April to July, 2019 can be transferred directly to their bank accounts.
PM-Kisan Yojna is an income support scheme for farmers in which Rs 6,000 per year is given in three equal instalments
Tomar also sought organisation of village-wise campaign to cover one crore farmers under the Kisan Credit Card Scheme within the next 100 days.
The funds will be on top of the priority list irrespective of which category an IL&FS group company belongs to, green, amber or red.
During the hearing on Friday, IL&FS told the appellate tribunal that lenders are cooperating with the company for restructuring of the debt. IL&FS also said that out of the 13 companies in the amber category, three would be reclassifed. After the transition of the three companies is complete, the rest of the 10 would also be brought under the amber bracket.
IL&FS has to file the status report on the 10 companies on or before the next hearing on August 8.
The new board at IL&FS had classified the IL&FS group companies into three categories -- 'green', 'amber', and 'red' -- on the basis of their ability to service debt obligations to secured and unsecured creditors. Firms classified as "green" would continue to meet their payment obligations, while "amber" category firms can meet only operational payment obligations to secured financial creditors.
Those under the "red" category are the entities which cannot meet their payment obligations at all.
"According to 2007 Maintainability Act, Odisha govt has implemented the rules and regulation under which victims can register cases. District collector is the appellate authority. Out of more than 200 cases, final verdict of most is out and one person from Puri was jailed for 25 days," informed Panda.
At a cost Rs 62 crore, construction work of 150 coordinated complexes for elderly residents have begun in nine districts-Khurda, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Puri, Ganjam, Bhadrak, Malkangiri, Balasore and Kandhamal, informed Panda. He also added that 44 old age homes are being constructed by NGOs across the State.
Speaking on the issue, Congress MLA Sura Routray said, "There should be a special old age home in Bhubaneswar where complete care of elderly should be taken along with provision of food and healthcare."
On death of a Government servant while in service, the family is entitled to a family pension in accordance with Rule 54 of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972. The family pension was payable at enhanced rate of 50% of the pay last drawn for a period of 10 years, if the Government servant had rendered a continuous service of not less than seven years; thereafter the rate of family pension was 30% of the pay last drawn. In case the Government servant had rendered a service of less than seven years before his death, the rate of family pension was 30% from the beginning and family pension at enhanced rate of 50% of last pay drawn was not payable to the family.
The Government felt that the need for family pension at enhanced rate is more in the case of a Government servant who dies early in his career, as his pay at the initial phase of service is much less. The Government has, therefore, amended Rule 54 of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 by a notification dated September 19, 2019. As per the amended Rule 54, the family of a Government servant, who dies within seven years of joining service, will also be eligible for family pension at enhanced rate of 50% of last pay drawn, for a period of 10 years.
The above amendment would be effective from October 1, 2019. However, the families of Government servants who died before completion of service of seven years within 10 years before October 1, 2019, will also be eligible for family pension at enhanced rates with effect from October 1, 2019.
The benefit of amended provisions would be available to the families of all Government servants, including the personnel of CAPFs, in the unfortunate event of their death within seven years of joining Government service.
The dismissed officials include former Tehsildar of Loisingha Bijayini Biswal, former Block Development Officer (BDO) of Komana block, Pradeep Kumar Behera.
Similarly, pension benefits have been stopped in cases of former Mayurbhanj DCP Bansidhar Nayak, former BDO Ganesh Prasad Nayak, former Tehsildar Santosh Kumar Mohanty, former Puri Tehsildar Pravat Kumar Maharana, former Nuapada BDO Sunil Kumar Sahu, former Balasore Tehsildar Nirakar Parida, officer in-charge of Bargarh Municipality Naveen Seth, former Khandapada BDO Sanatan Sethi and former Regional Transport Officer Purandar Pujari.
As per reports, investigation of corruption cases pending against 73 OAS and senior officials is currently underway. In July 2017, though the then Secretary of Revenue Department Chandrasekhar Kumar asked collectors of 12 districts to submit a report in connection with the cases, no report has been handed over yet.
On Sunday, she took to Twitter, where she shared a news headline, which read: "Uttarakhand announces pension for acid attack survivors in the state after the release of 'Chhapaak'".
Meghna wrote: "PURPOSE."
PURPOSE. pic.twitter.com/7qdqymymWz
— Meghna Gulzar (@meghnagulzar) January 12, 2020
The newindianexpress.com on Saturday had reported that "as of now, there are 10-11 acid attack survivors living in the state of Uttarkhand".
Rekha Arya, the State Women and Child Welfare Minister, while announcing the scheme said that the government was planning to start a pension scheme under which Rs 5,000-6,000 will be provided every month to the survivors so that they can live a life with dignity.
"We will be bringing the proposal in the cabinet to get it approved to further implement the scheme. The idea is to support the brave women in achieving their dreams," Arya was quoted as saying.
"Chhapaak", starring Deepika Padukone is based on the life of Laxmi Agarwal, an acid attack survivor. The film was released on January 10.
(IANS)
Without the provision for commuted pension, pensioners continued to receive reduced pension lifelong. "This is a historical step for the benefit of pensioners under EPS-95," the Ministry said.
The Employee's Pension Scheme (EPS 95) was rolled out in 1995. Initially, the ceiling was Rs 5,000, which was raised to Rs 6,500 in 2011 and then to Rs 15,000 in 2014.
The EPFO caters to more than 65 lakh pensioners through its 135 regional offices. The EPFO employees processed May pension and ensured its credit in the pensioners' bank accounts on schedule, battling all odds during the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
(IANS)
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All Central government pensioners can now submit Life Certificate from 1st November 2020 to 31st December 2020. Earlier, this used to be only for the month of November for maintaining continuity of Pension.
The pensioners in the age group of 80 years and above, can now submit Life Certificate from 1st October 2020 to 31st December 2020. During this extended period, the pension will be continued to be paid by the Pension Disbursing Authorities (PDAs) uninterrupted.
Singh said that the decision was taken in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the vulnerability of elderly population to Coronavirus.
"As per RBI notification dated January 9, 2020, which permits Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP) as a consent-based alternate method of establishing the customer’s identity, Pension Disbursing Banks have been also asked to explore the said methodology for obtaining a Life Certificate from the pensioner to the extent permitted by RBI guidelines, in order to avoid rush at the branches," he said.
Every Central government pensioner has to submit a life certificate in the month of November for further continuation of their pension. Pensioners can submit a life certificate by visiting the bank branches, however, the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare has been promoting the Digital Life Certificate which can be given from the comfort of one’s home also, a release read.
In 2019, as a measure to enable additional dedicated time to very senior pensioners, the Department had issued orders enabling pensioners in the age group of 80 years and above to submit Life Certificate from 1st October onward instead of 1st November, every year so that they could avoid the general rush in the month of November, it added.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that the decision has been taken considering all the sensitivities to avoid pandemic risk likely to emerge from gathering of crowds at the pension disbursing banks.
Apart from this, the Minister of State for Personnel said, pensioners above the age of 80 years were given an exclusive window from October 1 onward to submit their life certificate to avoid a likely rush from the opening date of November 1.
"While the annual life certificate is mandatory for the continuation of pension, the Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare (DoPPW) recently took an innovative decision to rope in Indian Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to facilitate digital life certificate (DLC)," Singh was quoted as saying by PTI.
Following the move, Indian Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is now helping in the collection of the digital life certificate from houses of pensioners through 1.89 lakh Postmen and Gramin Dak Sewaks, which has come as a great comfort to pensioners, especially those residing in rural areas, the minister said.
Further, DoPPW has started a campaign to extend support to the aged or infirmed pensioners in submission of life certificate digitally from home. "Other modes of submitting the life certificate from homes such as by attaching a biometric device to a personal computer or mobile phones are also in operation," Singh said.
How Govt Is Tackling Inconveniences Faced By Senior Citizens?
The Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare has noted certain inconveniences being experienced by senior citizens on account of changing biometrics due to age.
Addressing the issue, Singh said, "To overcome this age-related scientific hazard, all the pension disbursing banks have been advised to adopt video-based customer identification process (V-CIP) as an additional facility for obtaining life certificate from the pensioners, within the permissible RBI guidelines."
The minister said the DoPPW is on the verge of introducing the face-recognition technology to submit digital life certificate through a simple Android phone without attaching any biometric device.
Using this facility, it would be possible to establish the identity of a person through the face-recognition technique, he said.
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A division bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli was hearing a batch of petitions in relation to the non-payment of salaries and pensions to the employees of Delhi municipal corporations, particularly North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NrDMC) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC).
"Reason assigned for non-payment of timely salaries is stated to be paucity of funds which, as is well settled, cannot be an excuse for non-payment, keeping in view the fact that the right to receive salary and pension is a fundamental right enshrined under Article 21 of Constitution and non-payment would have direct bearing on quality of life," the court stated.
The court further said that it is absolutely necessary that payment of salaries and pensions is made to the employees and retired employees of the corporations, which also include doctors, paramedical staff and health workers -- who are rendering their services in the time of pandemic and serving the citizens of Delhi.
The division bench further said that non-availability of funds "cannot be and shall not" be accepted by it as an excuse for timely payment of salaries. "The payment of salaries and pensions has to be prioritised over other discretionary expenses that the corporations are incurring."
"We, therefore, direct the Municipal Corporations to place before us the different heads of expenditure in respect to the Municipal Counsellors, Class-I officers and Class-II officers. The amounts incurred in providing perks to them should be clearly disclosed under each specific head," the bench ordered, slating the next hearing to January 21.
Employees of the municipal corporations have gone on strike in recent months over the non-payment of their salaries. Thousands of civic body staffers went on an indefinite strike on January 7, demanding their pay and pension to be released.
(IANS)