Wednesday, 28 August 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The union government’s decision to provide the option of the Unified Pension Scheme ( UPS) for the employees covered under New Pension Scheme (NPS) has put the Uttarakhand government under pressure to implement the scheme in the State. It is learnt that the Pushkar Singh Dhami government can soon make an announcement regarding the implementation of UPS in the State. The Dhami government is likely to bring a proposal in this regard in the next meeting of the State cabinet.
However implementation of the scheme will put a big financial burden on the State exchequer as majority of the employees covered under the NPS are likely to opt for the UPS. Though the employees want the government to restore the more lucrative Old Pension Scheme (OPS) most of them will opt for UPS instead of the NPS for its element of guaranteed pension. The State president of national movement for restoration of OPS (NMOPS), Jeetmani Painyuli said that the massive rally organised by the NMOPS at Ramlila grounds in New Delhi on October 1 last year forced the government to take a decision to give pension to the employees. He said that the employees want to get the benefit of OPS where 50 percent of the last salary drawn is given as pension along with dearness allowance (DA) and other allowances. Painyuli added that employees want nothing short of OPS and their agitation will continue. There are about one lakh employees in Uttarakhand who are under the NPS.
The NPS was introduced in the year 2004 by the Manmohan Singh government to reduce the burden of pension on the State exchequer. Over the years the employees found the NPS non lucrative and are demanding the restoration of OPS in which the retiring employee gets 50 per cent of his last drawn salary as pension. Under the pressure of the employee associations, the State governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have dismantled the NPS and restored the OPS for their employees. Taking cognizance of the resentment of the employees, the union government has now come out with UPS in which 50 per cent of the basic salary of the retiring employee will be given on completion of 25 years of service.
