Pension on retirement day : Why can't others follow the same ?
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: July 03, 2012 -

Pensionery benefits on retirement day for teacher/Employees of Zone-I and Bishnupur at ZEO's office, Khoyathong on July 01 2012
Pix - Bunti Phurailatpam

Among the numerous protest demonstrations that we witnessed almost on daily basis in Manipur, one that really made us shrunk in shame is that of the elderly pensioners.

After giving best part of their lives and services, retired government employees in Manipur become just an old man or woman, and their real struggle starts even for enjoying their due pension benefit.

This is an irony of life for many elderly citizens in Manipur, who are compelled to hit the street to raise their demand for payment of pension, which is essentially a form of saving that allows an individual to put money aside to ensure that when he or she got retirement from active service can still have an income to live off.

Often this would incorporate contributions from their own salary. The amount an employee deposits into his or her pension plan determines the amount he or she would have to live off when they retire.

But in case of Manipur, retired government employees have to normally run from pillar to post to get their pensionary benefits.

In most cases, the real claimants are also made to go through a grueling session of waiting for long hours at the bank to withdraw their money while the government tries to grapple with fraud pensioners.

In short, retired government employees are a harassed lot in Manipur. In such a situation, it is heartening to see Education Minister Moirangthem Okendro giving away pensionary benefits to 27 teachers on day of their retirement on July 1.

In fact, this is for the first time in the history of Manipur that that retired employees have been given their due pensionary benefits without any hassle, although such an arrangement has been in place for the last 18 years.

It was on February 21, 1994, the Secretariat: Department of Personnel (Pension Cell), Government of Manipur had issued an office memorandum directing all the heads of offices and the Audit/Account Officers for ensuring the amount of pension and gratuity payable to a retired Government employees on the date of retirement and issuing the pension payment order not less than one month in advance of the date of retirement.

The office memorandum was in tune with the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, which was adopted by the Government of Manipur.

Signed by the then Deputy Secretary (Pension) S Sunderlal Singh, the office memorandum had also made it clear that if delay is anticipated in the preparation of the pension papers, the matter should be forwarded to the Audit Department for proper assessment of the final pension and gratuity and the issuance of the pension payment order.

Unfortunately, the office memorandum in question remained covered in cobwebs, unknown and uncared for, all these years.

Anyway, now that the Education Minister has not only removed the cobwebs but also assured that henceforth teachers who retire from service would be provided their provisional pensions on their retirement day, we hope this trend continues not just in Education Department but in all the departments under the Government of Manipur.

Out on a mission to bring about changes in the existing education system, the concern and gesture of Education Minister Moirangthem Okendro towards the retired teachers is understandable, but it is an example worth emulating by others.