HP finance dept told to notify instructions for OPS implementation

Three days after the Himachal Pradesh cabinet approved the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for state government employees, chief secretary Prabodh Saxena issued a memorandum on Tuesday in this regard

Three days after the Himachal Pradesh cabinet approved the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for state government employees, chief secretary Prabodh Saxena issued a memorandum on Tuesday in this regard, setting the ball rolling for implementation of the decision.

The state cabinet led by chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in its meeting first meeting held on January 13, had decided to restore the OPS for state government employees, one of the 10 guarantees promised by the Congress in the run up to the assembly elections. (ANI Picture Service)

“All government employees who are presently being covered under the defined contributory pension scheme also referred to as National Pension System (NPS) will be given benefit of the OPS. The finance department is directed to notify instructions/standard operating procedure to implement the decision,” states the memorandum.

In pursuance to the cabinet decision, the finance department will issue terms and conditions and standing operating procedure in due course of time, it added.

The state cabinet led by chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in its meeting first meeting held on January 13, had decided to restore the OPS for state government employees, one of the 10 guarantees promised by the Congress in the run up to the assembly elections.

The notification regarding the implementation of OPS is likely to be issued after the SOPs are notified.

Meanwhile, opposition BJP has raised questions over the implementation of the decision given the financial crisis the state is facing.

In a statement issued here, BJP general secretary and Bilaspur MLA Trilok Jamwal said the government will have to spend ₹800- ₹900 crore annually to implement the OPS, but from where these funds would come is not known.

“It seems that the government wants to raise the funds by putting a burden on the general public, that’s why the government increased VAT on diesel, which would further lead to rise in the prices of the essential commodities,” he added.

Jamwal said the government hasn’t yet issued the notification effecting the implementation of the OPS, which is a “betrayal” of its promise made to the 1.36 lakh government employees.

He said as per the chief minister, the Centre has ₹8,600 crore which the employees of Himachal have contributed towards the New Pension Scheme (NPS).

“This money has already been invested in the stock market and the question remains that from where the Congress government would bring funds to pay for the OPS,” he said.

Jamwal claimed that the Rajasthan government implemented the OPS in February 2022, Chhattisgarh in March 2022 and Jharkhand in September 2022, but they haven’t been able to overcome the burden it has put on the state exchequer.

He also took a dig at the Congress government stating that the current regime specialises in forming cabinet subcommittees.

To implement its assurance of providing ₹1,500 per month to women, the government formed one committee, while another panel was constituted to create one lakh jobs as promised, he added.

During elections, the Congress had said that these promises would be fulfilled in the first cabinet meeting, he further said.