TN govt panel for studying pension schemes a delaying tactic, says Anbumani

CHENNAI: Alleging that the government has constituted a committee to study the pension schemes to delay the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss urged the government to implement the Old Pension Scheme directly.

Stating that even before the implementation by the Central government departments, Tamil Nadu had been following the New Pension Scheme since April 2003, Anbumani pointed out, “For more than 20 years, government employees have been demanding the implementation of the old pension scheme and conducting protests. But, the government has been refusing their demands. Meanwhile, the central government announced the implementation of the Unified Pension Scheme.”

Alleging that the government tries to divert attention from the issue by forming the committee, Anbumani added the clamours for the old pension scheme started to come out.

“As of today, old pension schemes are being followed in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. In 2016, former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa formed a similar committee before the election announcement. The committee did not start functioning until her death. In 2017, the then chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami formed a committee. The committee submitted its report in November 2018. But no action was taken,” he recalled.

A notification issued by the state government late on Tuesday night said that the Tamil Nadu government has decided to constitute a three-member committee of officers to thoroughly study the Old Pension Scheme, participatory pension scheme, and Unified Pension Scheme and recommend the best pension scheme for Tamil Nadu government staff taking into account the financial situation of the state and government employees’ demands regarding pension scheme.