E-Paper
Pensioners of Himachal roadways protest over pending dues
Responding to ongoing protests by Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) employees and pensioners, the Chief Minister said that deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri is already holding talks with the unions
As the Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) pensioners on Wednesday staged a protest at Chaura Maidan, Shimla, over delayed pensions and pending dues.
Addressing the gathering, Devraj Thakur, president of the HRTC association, said, “We have been deceived by the management and the state government. The Himachal Pradesh government adopted the new pay scale scheme in 2016, but the arrears from 2016 to 2022 are still pending. Since April 1, 2024, not a single retired employee has received even ₹1 as pension.”
He added that for the past four years, no medical reimbursement claims had been cleared. “Over 500 retired employees have passed away in the last four years without receiving reimbursement for their medical expenses. Many of us worked in workshops amid smoke and dust and suffer from chronic ailments. Even today, about 70% of those who came to the protest brought along their daily medicines,” he said.
“At this age, 70 and 80 years pensioners are being forced to borrow money for medicines and daily meals. Every month we wait in hope that our pension will arrive on the first, so we can clear our dues. But even that hope is fading,” he lamented.
CM calls for “systemic reforms”, blames disaster for delay
Responding to ongoing protests by Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) employees and pensioners, the Chief Minister said that Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri is already holding talks with the unions.
“We provide ₹750 crore annually to HRTC. The corporation earns around ₹70 crore monthly from operations, including school and subsidized bus services. However, due to recent natural calamities, operations were affected for two months and HRTC has not been able to generate revenue for two months, which has caused difficulties in disbursing pensions. However, the government is sensitive to this issue and will provide some grants to HRTC so that pensioners can receive their pensions and employees can receive their salaries,” Sukhu said while talking to the media.
“We’ve directed that pensions should ideally be released by the 15th of every month, but we’re now trying to ensure payment by the 1st. HRTC needs to rationalise its workforce, especially at the officer level, to control expenditure,” Sukhu said, adding that the government will continue supporting HRTC financially but expects better management in return.
