Yog Raj Sharma
The North News
Shimla, July 12
Pensioners across Himachal Pradesh have pledged to donate one day’s pension to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to support the state during the ongoing natural disaster on Saturday. While talking to the media in Shimla, Atmaram Sharma, the newly elected president of the Himachal Pradesh Pensioners’ Welfare Association, said the contribution would come from nearly 200,000 registered pensioners affiliated with the association. The decision was made following a recent meeting with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Sharma added that the association had also submitted a memorandum of demands to the Chief Minister, calling for urgent redressal of several long-standing issues faced by pensioners. Among these is the immediate formation of the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) to address pensioners’ concerns in a structured manner. He said employees who retired between 1 November 2016 and 31 January 2022 are still awaiting payments related to leave encashment, gratuity, and commutation. He urged the government to ensure prompt disbursal of these pending dues.
The association is also seeking special budgetary provisions for the clearance of medical reimbursement bills and the timely release of arrears based on pay commission recommendations. Sharma highlighted the need to notify the already announced 3% Dearness Allowance (DA) hike and to release the remaining 10% DA in instalments. He also called for the settlement of 42 months’ worth of DA arrears.
Sharma confirmed that elections for the state committee of the association were successfully conducted, with delegates from across Himachal participating and electing ten representatives.
He also raised concerns about the emergence of a parallel group claiming to represent pensioners, which he said is not recognised under the association’s constitution.
