E-Paper
LTC to three teachers: PU to take up matter on January 7
A total of 72 teachers of the university are continuing service after retirement as per interim ordersof the Punjab and Haryana high court
The Panjab University (PU) Board of Finance (BoF) will decide on January 7 whether the three teachers (aged above 60) who are continuing service on court orders to avail Leave Travel Concession (LTC) can avail the same or not.
The development has come after the (PU) vice-chancellor (V-C) Raj Kumar recommended three teachers–Ravi Kant Mahajan, Kalpana K Mahajan and Prabhat Singh–to avail LTC in August 2019 after the legal opinion sought in the case from the university retainer on May 5, 2019, in the case allowed for the same.
In total, 11 items will be taken up for discussion.
As per the university retainer, the teachers who are in service above the age of 60 are entitled to avail the LTC as per the interim order of the high court and drawing distinction between these teachers will be against the spirit of the order.
These teachers are continuing their service after the age of superannuation as per the interim orders of the Punjab and Haryana high court on December 6, 2016.
There are 72 teachers of PU who are continuing service after the age of 60, which is the retirement age as per the current PU regulations.
The audit department has raised objections against availing of LTC to such teachers saying it is against the 2016 high court order.
After the ministry of human resource and development (MHRD) enhanced the retirement age from 60 to 65 years, some varsity teachers filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking the same.
The high court, in its interim orders, has allowed the teachers to continue their service after the age of 60 till the time the final order is passed.
The establishment section of the varsity is of the view that as per the current rules, such teachers are entitled to get the LTC as per the interim orders of the high court.
In contrast, the audit department in the case has observed that as per the high court
order (allowing teachers to continue service after the age of 60 years) dated December 6, 2016, the university has to pay the appellants the salaries that they were drawing immediately before the single-bench order excluding house rent allowance (HRA) as an interim relief, subject to final outcome of the appeal.
No other enhancement (dearness allowance, annual increment) has been allowed by PU to these teachers.
The audit department has outlined that the LTC to such teachers is not admissible in terms of the December 6, 2016, judgment of the high court and it is therefore advised that the matter regarding payment of LTC be put up before the BoF of the varsity.
Now, if the LTC will be allowed to these teachers, it will be allowed to all such teachers at the varsity.
