Old Pension Scheme: This state government has taken a big decision regarding state employees. The Cabinet on Thursday approved the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for employees who joined service after November 2005.
This decision will benefit 26,000 employees.
This decision has come a few days after they went on strike demanding restoration of OPS, information about which has been given by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). Vishwas Katkar, general secretary of Maharashtra State Employees Confederation, said, “The cabinet decision will benefit 26,000 state government employees who were selected before November 2005 but received joining letters later.”
The state cabinet has asked these 26,000 employees to choose between OPS and the new pension scheme within six months and submit the relevant documents to their departments in the next two months. The CMO statement said that this is a one-time option for these employees.
There are about 9.5 lakh government employees who joined the service before November 2005 and they are already availing the benefits of OPS. OPS was discontinued in the state in 2005.
These decisions also got approval.
The state cabinet also approved the proposal to collect a toll amount of Rs 250 from cars for using the Mumbai Trans Harbor Link (MTHL), the country’s longest sea bridge. This sea bridge connects Sewri in Mumbai to Nhava Sheva in the neighboring district Raigarh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate MTHL on January 12. The 21.8 km long bridge will reduce the journey from the current two hours to about 15-20 minutes.
Apart from this, the cabinet approved the proposal to issue subsidy of Rs 5 per liter to milk producers in the state. The decision was announced in the winter session of the state legislature held last month.
