Rattan Singh Gill
Jammu Tawi, March 04: A select group of central government employees have been given a one-time option to opt for the old pension scheme. Employees who joined the central government services for posts advertised or notified prior to December 22, 2003, the day the National Pension System (NPS) was notified, are eligible to join the old pension scheme under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021), according to an Office Memo issued on Friday by the Union Ministry of Personnel, Pension and Public Grievances.
This option may be exercised by the relevant government employees before August 31, 2023.
According to the statement, the move was made in response to various representations/references and court decisions in this regard.
Govt of India notified the National Pension Scheme on Dec 23, 2003, and implemented from 01.01.2004 thus discontinuing the benefits of the Old Pension Scheme to all those employees who joined the government service after 01.01.2004. However, the government employees selected against the posts notified and advertised before the cut-off date of NPS i.e. Dec 23, 2003, and who were undergoing the selection process like tests, medical, police verifications, filling of formalities of appointment and could join after 01.01.2004 were pushed to the disadvantageous cover of New Pension Scheme.
The plea of these select employees before the government was that the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021) be extended on the ground that their appointment was made against the posts/vacancies advertised/notified for recruitment prior to notification for National Pension System, citing court judgements of various Hon'ble High Courts and Hon'ble Central Administrative Tribunals.”
“It has now been decided that, in all cases where the central government civil employee was appointed against a post or vacancy which was advertised/notified for recruitment/appointment prior to the date of notification for National Pension System, i.e. 22.12.2003, and is covered under the National Pension System on joining service on or after 01.01.2004, may be given a one-time option to be covered under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021),” the order stated.
Those government employees who are eligible to exercise their option under new opportunity but to exercise this option by the stipulated date will continue to be covered by the National Pension System, according to the amendment.
The order stated that once the option is exercised, it is final.
The issue of coverage under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021), based on the government servant's option, shall be brought before the appointing authority.
If a government employee meets the requirements for coverage under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021), the necessary order must be issued by October 31, 2023, according to the rules.
As a result, such government employees' NPS accounts will be closed as of December 31, 2023.
A senior officer holding a position in J&K UT on condition of anonymity shared his grievance, ‘On similar principle and analogy, a large number of state government employees in erstwhile Jammu Kashmir have been deprived of the benefit of Old Pension Scheme after the implementation of the New Pension Scheme on 01.01.2010.' He said that tentatively, 1000-1500 government employees or maybe more, from various streams like Civil Services, Medical, Engineering, Education, etc who were selected against the various sanctioned posts notified and advertised before the cut date Dec 2009 lost the benefits of the then prevalent Old Pension Scheme for no fault of theirs.
‘A long process from notifications, advertisements, entrance examinations, announcements, filling of formalities, police and CID verification, medical etc. used to be a nightmare for the youth aspiring for jobs. It was the state governance culture. To quote for instance, 398 officers of the 2010 batch of Combined Civil Services who were engaged in the process of selection against posts notified and advertised in 2008-09 were pushed to huge disadvantage,' the official said.
Moreover, the Central Government vide its S.O. 643 dated 01.10.2022, has already amended the J&K Civil Services Rules 1956 and Pension & Gratuity Rules 1964 to bring these at par with the Central Civil Services and Pension Rules. And moreover, all the officers and employees in Union Territories of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh no longer bear the batch of erstwhile J&K State and are now at par with the Central Government employees.
