India News | Himachal: Pensioners Hold Assembly Gherao Protest in Shimla, Demand Release of Pending Dues
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Hundreds of pensioners from across Himachal Pradesh gathered at Chaura Maidan in Shimla on Tuesday and held a protest march towards the state Assembly, demanding the release of pending pensionary benefits, arrears and medical reimbursements.
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], September 1 (ANI): Hundreds of pensioners from across Himachal Pradesh gathered at Chaura Maidan in Shimla on Tuesday and held a protest march towards the state Assembly, demanding the release of pending pensionary benefits, arrears and medical reimbursements.
The protest was organised by the Himachal Pradesh Pensioners Joint Action Committee, with pensioners arriving from distant districts including Lahaul-Spiti, Chamba, Sirmaur and Kinnaur.
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Speaking to ANI during the protest, Joint Action Committee president Suresh Thakur accused the state government of adopting a "step-motherly" attitude towards pensioners and said the gathering of pensioners in large numbers reflected their resentment against the government.
"Pensioners aged 80, 90, 92 and even 95 years are being forced to come onto the streets to demand their rights. This is shameful," Thakur said.
He alleged that the government had failed to address the financial difficulties of retired employees and said pensioners were seeking payment of dues that they had already earned during their service.
Thakur said pensioners were demanding the payment of leave encashment, gratuity and commutation, particularly for employees retired from January 1, 2016, to January 31, 2022, as well as those who retired thereafter. He also demanded payment of arrears arising from the revised pay scales and pending 15 per cent DA.
Referring to the government's decision to release 35 per cent of pension arrears to Class-III employees, Thakur said the amount did not cover the pay-related arrears pending for employees who retired before the implementation of the revised pay structure.
He also raised issues concerning medical allowances and reimbursements, saying pensioners were facing difficulties in getting medical expenses reimbursed.
Thakur said HRTC pensioners were also facing delays in receiving their pensions and claimed that dues of Rs 50,000 and 3 per cent DA had not been paid to them.
He further raised the issue of pensioners from 18 corporate-sector organisations, claiming that more than 6,000 such pensioners were not receiving pensions. He demanded restoration of the pension provision notified in 1999, which, he said, was subsequently discontinued under a 2004 notification.
"The corporate sector can generate the resources to pay these pensioners. There will be no additional burden on the Himachal Pradesh government," he said.
Thakur said the pensioners were not seeking any favour but were demanding benefits they had earned during their service. "Our demand is not for charity. We are demanding our rights, which we have earned," he said.
He warned that the pensioners' movement would be intensified if their demands were not addressed, saying the Joint Action Committee would decide its next course of action at a meeting.
"We will not only gherao the Assembly but will also go to the areas of ministers, the Chief Minister and MLAs and hold protests," Thakur said.
Further, Himachal Pradesh Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said, "Pensioners are protesting here, and they have the right to voice their concerns. The Himachal Chief Minister repeatedly claims that his government is pro-employee and committed to protecting their interests; however, I ask him: why are the employees on strike? He should answer this."
Pensioner Om Swaroop Sharma, who travelled around 200 kilometres from Samirpur to participate in the protest, said he had reached an advanced stage of age and feared that delayed payment of his dues could come too late to be of any use to him.
"I am at an age where perhaps I may not be able to go much further. The government owes me money, and I should receive it today. If I get it after I am gone, it will be of no use to me. My first right over that money is mine," Sharma told ANI.
Strongly criticising the government for withholding the arrears, Sharma said pensioners were being forced to protest despite their age.
He also indicated that the issue could influence their voting decisions. "We will vote for the person who releases our arrears. We will tell them that they will get our vote only when they pay the dues of those covered under the 2016-22 period," he said.
Sharma warned that if the government failed to act, pensioners could intensify their agitation and even bring their families into the movement.
"If nothing is given, we will protest. We will bring our children too and sit at the Chief Minister's residence. We will ask the government to give us what is rightfully ours," he said.
Another protesting pensioner, Kamla Negi, said that although she had received most of her dues, several payments, including DA arrears and benefits related to the revised pay scale, were still pending.
She said her husband had retired in 2018 and around Rs 16-17 lakh was still pending in his case. "My husband retired in 2018 and a large amount of his money is still pending. Around Rs 16-17 lakh has not been paid to us," Negi told ANI.
Negi also highlighted the problems faced by pensioners in getting medical reimbursements. She said she had undergone cataract surgery at a private hospital in Chandigarh in 2022, for which reimbursement at the applicable government rate of around Rs 6,000 was still pending.
She said pensioners were being forced to bear medical expenses themselves despite having served the government for years.
"We have loans as well, and reimbursements from the department are also pending. There should be a separate budget and proper provisions for senior citizens and pensioners, but we are told there is no budget," she said.
Negi said that because of repeated delays in reimbursement, she had stopped submitting further reimbursement claims.
"There are many problems. At this age, they are making us cry," she said.
The pensioners said they would continue their agitation until the government addressed their outstanding financial and medical claims, and warned that the next phase of the movement could be more intense. (ANI)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)