OLD PENSION SCHEME 2022-23: In the new year 2023, lakhs of government employees of Himachal Pradesh will get a big gift. The state’s Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu government has started preparations to implement the old pension scheme as promised, it is likely that the proposal can be approved in the first cabinet of January. The same CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu also assured the employees that the employees coming under NPS should wait for the first cabinet meeting, the government is committed to approve the OPS in the first cabinet meeting.
Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said that Congress has come to power by promising to provide old pension scheme, in such a situation no one will be let down. Employees coming under the National Pension Scheme (NPS) should wait for the first cabinet meeting. The state government has written to the central government asking it to pay Rs 1632 crore collected under NPS contribution. 20000 NPS employees have retired since 2003.
In fact, on Wednesday, on the instructions of the CM, the Finance Department held a meeting with the NPS personnel and discussed in detail the draft being prepared by the government on OPS. The Finance Department and the employees presented their respective figures in the meeting. After the meeting, CM Sukhwinder Sukhu said that the Congress government will implement OPS in the first cabinet meeting as per its promise. There is preparation to give OPS to the employees in the first cabinet meeting, wait for a few more days for this. A framework has to be prepared for pensioners to get regular and respectable pension.
Finance department is preparing draft
Let us tell you that the preparations for the implementation of the old pension scheme in Himachal Pradesh by the Congress government are going on in full swing. On the instructions of the CM, all the departments have asked for the complete details of the NPS employees and now the Finance Department is busy in finalizing the draft. How will the benefit of OPS be given to the same employees, how to wait for the money, how much burden will come on the exchequer. Apart from this, if the central government does not return the money deposited after 2002, then how to give pension to the employees. This was also discussed.
OPS is closed since 2004
The special thing is that Himachal Pradesh will be the third Congress ruled state after Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where OPS will be implemented. Financial management will be a big challenge for the state government after its implementation, as the state government already has a debt of about 70 thousand crores. There are 2.5 lakh government employees in the state, of whom around 1.5 lakh are covered under the new pension scheme. From April 1, 2004, the old pension scheme was discontinued in the country, in which the government pays the entire amount of pension.