Pensioners’ woes

J R Aryan
Government’s inattention and callous attitude towards the genuine demand of the retired employees or the pensioners who want their pension to be rationalized and streamlined on the basis of the latest pay revision with regard to the prevailing market inflation and cost index, is indeed nothing short of a high degree of injustice  to the retired employees. The rules or norms having been framed or being pursued are such as provide the least benefit of pension to them particularly to those who have retired two decades back and are in very advanced age facing the sky rocketing prices in their fag end of life under the step motherly treatment meted out to them.
The retired employees or pensioners of today were active employees of yesterday and the active employees of today shall become pensioners or retired employees of tomorrow; as the time keeps going, it never stops, the time keeps running it never hopes.
Be it  the serving employees or the retired employees, they from the part and parcel of the Govt of their respective time of service span which is 30 to 40 years from their age of 20 to 58 or 60 years which is the most effective and meaningful span of their life which they render to serve the Govt and mankind  by  a part of the administration and if they are deprived of their pensionary benefits after their retirement at the fag end of their life on being treated as useless articles of dustbin, this is a glaring step-motherly treatment by the Govt towards these senior citizens retired employees or the pensioners.
It is quite unfortunate and equally shocking that some stalwarts sitting in the power echelons who opine, entertain, maintain and believe  that pensions are like the parasite and an unnecessary burden on the Govt exchequer are really the enemies of the humanitarian values and true social justice which they shall come to realize when the time shall make them feel the grip of oldage with wrinkles writ large on their faces, their vision distorted, limbs weakened and infirmity all smiles alround to give them a feeling that the grip of oldage has its own unique effect. However rich they may be, millionaires or multimillions they shall be undone, unless and until, there is some one to look after them, to treat them, to take care of them, to serve them, to share their feelings and make them feel that they are a part of the family, society and have been a prominent working hand of the Govt and administration in the service of mankind, and do have the right and due regard of not being ignored or ill-treated by the society or the Govt. Time is a great master, an enemy, regulator and a healer too. It keeps on moving ahead and never  looks back, it never retreats. Today’s child will be a father someday and may turn a grand father some other day but a grand father can never get back to his childhood. These are the phases of life which start from infancy or childhood and then move on to boyhood, full youth and ultimately to oldage or advanced age from where there is no return.
Oozing their woes and frustration for the last couple of years through their struggle in the form of protests, press conferences, speeches, dharnas and slogans for rationalizing, streamlining and enhancing their pension share and other allied benefits the pensioners are shocked to find the Govt totally unbothered, uninterested and having turned a deaf ear to their genuine demands to deliver the justice to the right cause which straightway tantamounts to negation of moral and humanitarian values and governing norms.
The writer has a request for the Finance Minister who too being almost a senior citizen is expected to give a due and sympathetic consideration to it. Why have the pensioners not been given the arrears in one installment and why have they been made to receive the arrears in five installments in a span of 5 years. Some of them may even find their place in a graveyard or pyre by the time their last installments gets due. Even the third installments which was due in April, 2013 (this year) has not been released till now when it is now Feb, 2014 what a height of carelessness and callousness or disregard.
When MLAs, MLCs and ministers have been awarded the lump sum of the arrears why not the employees and the age beaten pensioners? Is it not a disparity or a discrimination ? Why different yardsticks ?
Another glaring set back the pensioner have been subjected to is that they are being given a meager medical allowance of Rs 300/- per month of their day today health care in their advanced years despite the fact that due to age factor and general physical debility they are more prone to ill-health and other health hazards frequently compared to other sections like the Ministers, Legislators etc, who are getting a handsome amount of medical allowance. It is requested the medical allowance for pensioners be enhanced to a minimum of Rs 2000.00 pm, as the rates for various medicines in the market are same for all and not cheaper for the pensioners.
The most pressing genuine demand of the pensioners  is that pension be fixed with the formula of equal pension for equal rank or cadre of any pensioner of any year of retirement with respect to the latest pay revision inforce, as is applicable to the army personnel.
An employee or an officer say a Tehsildar who retired say two decades back must have the same pension what a Tehsildar who retired in 2012 would get based on the latest pay revision and grade for a Tehsildar, because both have retired in the same cadre with same type of duty, and both are still living and passing through the same degree of inflation and market rates at present, so their pension must be same. The officer who retired two decades back shall not get the things from the market at present at the rates what these had been two decades back.
If, God forbid, the trend and attitude of the Govt continues to be rigid and callous towards the pensioners’ and serving employees’ genuine problems then they and their families shall be left with no other alternative than to adopt their own strategy to cast their votes in the coming elections in favour of such candidates and parties as would come forward in letter and spirit, word and deed without any ifs and buts to safeguard the pensioners and employees genuine demands and their right cause.
(The writer is a Retd officer of the J&K  Govt & Sr. Vice President of all J&K S/C S/T Retd Employees’ Forum & also member of J&K State Advisory Board for Welfare  of SCs.)

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