Pensioners plea to sanction DA Benefits

TN all department pensioners association general secretary P Krishnamurthy appealed to the CM to adhere to the GO, issued by MGR rule on payement of DA benefits to the government staff and pensioners whenever the Centre hiked the DA for its staff and pesioners.
 

Addressing the association district conference held here on Saturday, he said that the pensioners of TNSTC, TWAD did not get DA hike benefits for many years, and government for the past 7 months despite the Centre announced DA hike for its staff and pesioners. 
 

It raised a suspicion whether the government wanted to cut DA benefits for pensioners fully. So, the association planned to hold meetings and dharnas in all districts from October.
He thanked the CM for hiking health insurance benefits from Rs 4 to 5 lakhs  for clinical and non clinical treatment in both approved and unapproved hospitals under the scheme and hike in the benefit up-to Rs 10 lakh in specific cases and inclusion of village revenue assistants under the scheme. 
 

The new schemes is being implemented from July 1, 2022 after hiking the monthly premium from Rs 350 to 497 per month for pensioners. He also welcomed granting of permission to retired persons who did not come under the old pension scheme, by remitting Rs 5000 as annual premium. 
He pleaded to include retired noonmeal, anganwadi staff etc who were getting low non-standard time scale in the scheme.
 

He appealed to the CM to fulfil his poll promise of restoring old pension scheme and hike the pension benefit by giving 10 percent each for pensioners above 70 and 80 years of age. 
Now, the pensioners of noonmeal and anganwadi departments have to go to the panchayat union offices to get monthly pension. Due to fund shortage, they didn't get it in time. So, the government should grant pension to them through banks.
 

It should also release the IAS Officer Sridhar committee report on restoring old pension scheme for those who were appointed after 2003 as the finance minister openly spoke against restoring old pension scheme in contrast to the poll promise of his party in the presence of CM in the Assembly. 
As per the court order, the Centre restored death cum retirement gratuity benefit (DCRG) for its staff who joined under the new pension scheme. 
 

But, here, such benefit was denied. So, all staff, appointed after 2003,  must be brought under the old pension scheme, he pleaded. Association functionaries V Panneerselvam, S Sankaran S Balasubramaniam, G Haridass, N Manibarathi, P Arumugam, K Kadirvel, PS Prasanna, P Thangaraj,  A Natarajan and A Abdul Basheed spoke.