E-Paper
Uttar Pradesh: SP walks out of Vidhan Parishad over old pension scheme demand
Samajwadi Party members started angry protests after the government categorically said it was not possible to restore the old pension scheme for the state government employees
There were angry protests in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) and a walkout by the Samajwadi Party (SP) members after the government categorically asserted that it was not possible to restore the old pension scheme (OPS) for the state government employees.
During the Question Hour, the SP members demanded restoration of OPS in the state even as party’s Maan Singh Yadav asked minister of state, finance, Mayankeshwar Singh to ensure it. In reply, Mayankeshwar Singh said the new pension scheme (NPS) was implemented in April 2004 and now it was not possible to implement the OPS.
He said the NPS is a national pension scheme introduced to maintain a balance in the exchequer and benefit state employees, workers in organised and unorganised sectors, and social security for the elderly. He said till January 31 this year, a total of 5.95 lakh government and 3.5 lakh autonomous institutions’ employees had been registered under the NPS.
Maan Singh contended if states like Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab could implement the OPS, why not U.P.? . Teachers’ group MLC Dhru Kumar Tripathi too supported the SP members’ demand. He said the government should correct its mistake as the government has powers. Samajwadi Party’s Lal Bahadur Yadav said when the judiciary and executive had the OPS, why not the government employees and teachers?
The MoS, finance, said now it was not possible to scrap the NPS and introduce the OPS. At this, the SP members shouted anti-government slogans and staged a walkout. The NPS was introduced by the Centre in 2004 and then implemented by the Uttar Pradesh government on April 1, 2005. It is a contribution-based pension system.
Under the old system, the pension was fixed at 50% of the last basic salary drawn by an employee, along with other benefits and hikes. The employees also receive an assured amount, regardless of how much they contributed to their pension during their working life.
Under the NPS, the pension benefit is determined by factors such as the number of contributions made, the age of the member, the type of investment and the income drawn from that investment.
MoS, basic education, Sandeep Singh said in the Vidhan Parishad on Monday students will get the textbooks at the start of the new academic session in April. He said in the last session, the students could not get their books on time due to some technical issues. Sandeep Singh said this in reply to the issue about the textbooks raised by teachers’ group leader in the council Dhru Kumar Tripathi.
