OPS in Himachal: Following the Supreme Court order, Principal Secretary, Finance Department of the state government, Devesh Kumar has issued an office order on OPS.
OPS in Himachal: In Himachal Pradesh, employees who have not completed ten years of regular service due to the contract period will now get the benefit of OPS. After the order of the Supreme Court, now the Principal Secretary of the Finance Department of the State Government, Devesh Kumar, has issued an office order on this. According to this order, however, only those contract employees will get the benefit of pension, who have been selected in the contract policy through Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission or Staff Selection Commission Hamirpur. One condition will be that the employees who have opted for NPS instead of OPS will not be eligible to calculate the pension of contract service. There should not be any break between contract and regular service.
All such employees will have to give the option within 30 days through their department head. If death occurs during the contract period without regularization, then pension benefits will not be available. The state government had implemented NPS in Himachal from May 2003. Old pension was started again on 31 March 2023. After a decision from the Supreme Court in the Sheela Devi case of the Ayurveda Department, the Finance Department has issued office orders on 10 June. With this, the contract period will be considered for giving pension. Those who have not completed 10 years of regular service of such employees or pensioners due to the contract period, will get this benefit. As per the Supreme Court decision on 7 August 2023 in the Sheela Devi case from the Ayurveda Department, the state government will have to count the contract period of such employees for pension, who were regularized directly from the contract. It has been decided to implement this decision with some conditions.
Installment of dearness allowance released to electricity board employees, pensioners.
Installment of 4 percent dearness allowance has been released for the employees and pensioners of Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board. Executive Director of Electricity Board Manoj Kumar has issued office orders in this regard. 4 percent dearness allowance has already been given to the state government employees and pensioners. That is, it has now been increased from 34 to 38 percent to the employees and pensioners of the electricity board. It will be given to the employees and pensioners of the electricity board from April 1. Additional dearness allowance will be given between April 2024 and June 2024. Employees will be given it in the salary of the month of June and pensioners in pension. While separate orders will be issued to give arrears between July 1, 2022 to March 31, 2024.
Request made to the Governor for allotment of Nautod land.
The state government has once again requested the Governor to exempt the people of tribal areas from the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) applicable in Himachal to provide Nautod land to the people of tribal areas. Tribal Development Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that the former Congress government had decided to implement the Nautod Act during its tenure, which remained in force till 2018. When the BJP government came to power in 2017, only one case of Nautod was approved in 2018. In the Himachal Pradesh Nautod Land Rules 1968, a provision has been made to provide 20 bighas of government land to eligible beneficiaries having less than 20 bighas of land. Under this, tribal people have been benefited. Jagat Singh Negi said that last Friday, this demand of the tribal people was again presented by requesting the Governor so that Nautod land can be provided to eligible beneficiaries.
