Govt employees near retirement should not be disturbed: CAT

Govt employees near retirement should not be disturbed: CAT

New Delhi, Sep 5 (PTI) The Central Administrative Tribunal has held that government employees on the verge of superannuation should not be disturbed merely because they have stayed for a considerably long period at a particular place.

The apex tribunal said that such a benefit should be extended to superannuating employees to retire peacefully at a particular place after years of dedicated service.

"Merely because the applicants have a long stay and the transfer order could not be implemented so far would not by itself constitute sufficient reason.

"There is an objective based on considerations of welfare behind such provision in the transfer policy as it would enable a person about to retire after a long and devoted service to make arrangements for settling down thereafter with his family, acquire a house if not already done," Member N D Dayal said.

Source: PTI

Retirement age of university teachers raised from 60 to 62

The Bihar Government has decided to raise the retirement age of university and college teachers as well as that of non-teaching staff from 60 to 62 years.

The increase in the retirement age would, however, come into effect only after some relevant legal changes were approved by the State legislature.

A decision to raise the retirement age was taken at a special State Cabinet meeting here on Saturday evening.

The Government's decision would benefit at least 7,000 teachers and non teaching staff working in the State's nine universities.

In Patna university alone, 50 per cent of the posts were lying vacant.
Source: UNI

Raising retirement to 62

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is keen on extending the retirement age of civil servants to 62, one of his aides told this columnist in Delhi recently. He had apparently been keen to do so earlier this year, but such a change was thought politically risky at a time when the Congress party was using Rahul Gandhi’s youth as its electoral strategy (how do you convince voters that the party is going to harness the energy of the youth if you propose to keep all the old babus for another two years?). It may seem unreal now, but back then many in government feared that the Congress might lose power (even national security advisor M K Narayanan apparently threw a farewell party!), so the PM’s plan was shelved. It is being revived again, with the PM himself taking great interest.

This proposal has two justifications. First and foremost is fiscal. As had happened when the retirement age was raised from 58 to 60 in 1998, the expenditure on pensions would be curbed. In this year’s budget, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee earmarked non-Plan expenditure for pensions at Rs 25,085.49 crore. That is a growth of almost 40 per cent (39.4 per cent). It is a major contributor to the total spending that was announced by Pranab, a little over Rs 10 trillion, a hike of around 36 per cent from last year.Of course, coming at the time of a global economic slowdown this massive expenditure is possibly a good risk to take; but the prime minister is obviously looking for ways to keep costs from running away.

Of course, worse than the central finances are those of many of the States; their governments are far more reckless than the Centre’s. In the decade after New Delhi raised the age of superannuation to 60, the States slowly but surely followed suit. The States would likely follow the Centre’s lead again and that would help them manage their fiscal problems.

The other reason the PM wants to push retirement back another two years is that he wants to make tap the valuable human resource that bureaucrats represent. For one thing, life expectancy in India has gone up. According to UNICEF, in 2007 it was 64 years, and this is a figure that the average bureaucrat would have pulled upwards. Thus, when a civil servant retires at 60, she or he is still at their mental peak, and each acts as an institutional storehouse of government policy and programme implementation. Retaining them for another two years would possibly enrich functioning of the government. At the very least, it would keep some of the hypocrites off the boob tube — it’s very bizarre that the same bureaucrats who set government policy for 30 years or so, start abusing the government at the nearest TV station studio the moment they find themselves jobless. (Maybe it’s their pique at not getting a post-retirement sinecure).

The PM is not the first person to have such a brainwave. Almost a year ago, the University Grants Commission appointed a committee under G K Chadha to study pay revision, and he made a suggestion that teachers’ retirement age be raised to 65. This is timely advice considering that India is currently set to expand education in a major way under the stewardship of the dynamic Kapil Sibal. It is not just a matter of filling the ranks of teachers, but imparting quality teaching to India’s children.

If the PM wants to extend the retirement age then he would only be following a global trend. The retirement age in the US is 65; in Japan it is 60 and the government is gradually raising it to 65 by 2013, but people anyway continue working till 65 on reduced wages. By 2033, Austria’s retirement age will be 65. In Denmark it will be 67 years by 2027. Hungary plans to make it 69 years by 2050. Israel is already raising it to 67 years for men. All these countries and many others are increasing the retirement age because of an increasingly alarming problem — their ageing populations. By 2020, a quarter of Japan’s population will be 65 and over. Life expectancy in the US is about 77, and by 2050 is expected to go up to 83. Japan’s is already 82.4 years. Indeed, the life expectancy in some of the advanced countries, according to 2009 OECD data, are: France 80.9 years, Canada 80.4 years, Sweden 80.8 years, Italy 80.9 years and Spain 81.1 years. You would have to think that as India gets wealthier — which it undoubtedly is — our population’s life expectancy will similarly increase.

Imagine a person retiring at 60, but living till at least 80 (if not more), perhaps physically weakened as she or he passes 75, but still mentally at the top of his or her game. What do they do with such a long retirement? And besides the fact that the increase in life expectancy leaves retirees with too much time on their hands and their skills unutilised, it also places a great burden on the working population, which has to finance the social security and health benefits that the elderly need. In the West it costs much more to maintain an elderly person than it does to raise a child; and health care costs in the rich world are projected to be those countries’ biggest finance headache (much more than the costs of the stimulus to end the current economic crisis). Thus it is not surprising that there are an increasing number of voices in the West and Japan who are talking of increasing the retirement age to 75. Doing so would engage the older citizens, contribute to the state exchequer in terms of taxes from older workers, and reduce the social security burden on the young. It is a surprisingly obvious solution.

With the PM politically on the defensive after the all-round criticism of his joint statement with his Pakistani counterpart at Sharm-el-Sheikh, it is unclear when he may undertake the change in retirement age, though he is said to be very enthusiastic about it. Sharm-el-Sheikh will pass however; party boss Sonia Gandhi can manage the naysayers in the Congress, and the BJP is still shell-shocked from its electoral defeat to do serious damage to the government. And even within the BJP it is thought that currently the coming assembly elections in Maharashtra favour the Congress. Manmohan Singh will soon enough have the political wind at his back to make this proposal. Good thing, for it is an eminently sensible one.
Source: Express buzz
also read Business Standard

Unification of Date of Retirement for Keral State Government Employees...

Kerala Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac said the March 31 unified retirement date introduced for State Government Employees and Teachers as part of the administrative reforms in the 2009-10 state budget. And also said the decision would not affect their grade, increment or pension benefits. Nor it would affect recruitment to entry-level posts.
Kearal government employees retire from service on the afternoon of the last day of the month in which he attains the age of 55 years. The teaching Staff also retires at 55 years but they are allowed to continue till the last day of the month in which the academic year end. However, those teachers who attain the age of superannuation in April, May and June are not allowed to continue for the next academic year.
All Government Employees and Teachers who attain the age of 55 years during the course of the financial year will continue in service till the end of that financial year. The date of retirement of Government Employees and Teachers will be 31st March, every year. However, in the case of teachers in those institutions where the academic year closes on a date subsequent to 31st March, they will be allowed to continue till the last day of the month in which the academic year closes.
The extended period of service of Government Employees and Teachers will be reckoned for all service benefits such as pay revision, DA revision, increment, higher grade, promotion, accrual of leave and for pensionary benefits.

Travelling Allowance to Central Government servants on retirement

T.A. to Central Governmentservants on retirement

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I. Settlement at a station other than last station ofduty. - It has been decided to sanction the grant of travelling allowance to retiringGovernment servants on the scale and the conditions set out below. The travellingallowance referred to will be admissible in respect of the journey of the Governmentservant and members of his family from the last station of his duty to his home town or tothe place where he and his family is to settle down permanently even if it is other thanhis declared home town and in respect of the transportation of his personal effectsbetween the same places.

(a) For journeys by different modes.- Entitlement as for transfer.

EXPLANATION. - In regard to the question as to how thetravelling allowance in respect of the members of the family of a retiring Governmentservant, who do not actually accompany him is to be regulated, it has been decided thatthe provisions of SR 116 (b) (iii) may be applied mutatis mutandis in all such cases. A member of a Government servant's family who follows him within sixmonths or precedes him by not more than one month may, therefore, be treated asaccompanying him. The period of one month or six months, as the case may be, may becounted from the date the retiring Government servant himself actually moves. The claimsof travelling allowance in respect of the family members will not be payable until thehead of the family himself or herself actually moves.

The time-limits of one month and six months mentionedabove may be extended by the competent authority prescribed in SR 116(b) (iii) in individual cases attendant with special circumstances.

(b) The Government servant shall,besides the fares, be also eligible to composite transfer grant equal to one month's basicpay, if the distance from the last station of duty is more than 20 km.

(c) Transportation of personaleffects at the scale of allowance laid down in Order below SR 116is allowable. The Government servant will also be entitled to claim the cost oftransportation of personal effects between railway station and residence at either end ofthe journey as in the case of transfer.

(d) The actual cost of transporting amotor car or other conveyance maintained by the Government servant before his retirementis reimbursable as per Order below SR 116.

EXPLANATION. - In regard to the time-limits applicablefor the transportation of personal effects on availment of the concession, it has beendecided that the time-limits prescribed in the Explanation below sub-para. (a) above inthe case of members of the family, namely, one month anterior and six months posterior tothe date of the move of the retiring Government servant himself, should apply in the caseof transport of his personal effects. These limits may, however, be extended by thecompetent authority prescribed under SR 116 (b) (iii) inindividual cases attendant with special circumstances.

2. The grant of the concession willbe further subject to the following conditions, clarifications and subsidiary instructions:-

(i)	The concession will be admissible by the shortest route from the last place of duty of the Government servant to his home town or to the place where he and his family are to settle down permanently even if it is other then his declared home town.
(ii)	***
(iii)	The concession may be availed of by a Government servant who is eligible for it, at any time during his leave preparatory to retirement, or within one year of the date of his retirement. Power to extend the time-limit of one year will be exercised by the Administrative Ministries/Departments with the approval of the F.A. concerned, in individual cases attendant with special circumstances.
(iv)	The concession will be admissible to permanent Central Government servants who retire on a retiring pension or on superannuation, invalid or compensation pension.
(v)	The concession will also be admissible to temporary employees who retire on attaining the age of superannuation or are invalided or are retrenched from service, without being offered alternative employment, provided that they have put in a total service of not less than 10 years under the Central Government at the time of retirement/invalidment/retrenchment.
(vi)	In the case of a person whose domicile is elsewhere than in India or who intends to reside permanently outside India after retirement, the concession will be admissible up to the railway station nearest to the port of his embarkation. In the case of such a person who travels by air, the concession of travelling allowance by rail/road under these Orders will be admissible up to the airport of emplanement for himself and members of his family and up to the port of despatch for his personal effects.
(vii)	Where an officer is re-employed under the Central Government while he is on leave preparatory to retirement or within six months of the date of his retirement, the concession admissible under these orders may be allowed to be availed of by him within one year of the expiry of the period of his re-employment.
(viii)	A Government servant will be eligible to the retirement travelling allowance concession in full, notwithstanding the fact that he had availed of leave travel concession to home town or any place in India during one year preceding the date of retirement or commencement of leave preparatory to retirement.

3. Not admissible to. - Theconcession is not admissible to Government servants -

(a)	who quit service by resignation; or
(b)	who may be dismissed or removed from service; or
(c)	who are compulsorily retired as a measure of punishment; or
(d)	who are temporary employees with less than ten years of service retiring on superannuation/invalidation/retrenched.

4. The Travelling Allowance claimsadmissible under these Orders will be drawn, on Travelling Allowance Bill forms likeTransfer Travelling Allowance claims. The claims of officers who were their owncontrolling officers before retirement, will, however, be countersigned by the nextsuperior administrative authority.The claim of an officer who before retirement wasemployed as the Comptroller and Auditor-General or as a Secretary to the Government ofIndia may be countersigned by his successor in office. The certificate required to befurnished by the officers in respect of Transfer Travelling Allowance claims will also berequired to be furnished in respect of claims of Travelling Allowance under these orders. 5. Before reimbursing the TravellingAllowance admissible under these orders, the countersigning authorities should satisfythemselves, as far as possible, that the claimant and members of his family actuallyperformed the journey to the home town or the other place to which he might have proceededto settle there, e.g., by requiring the production of original railway vouchers relatingto transportation of personal effects, conveyance, etc. [Clarification. - The checks prescribed on retirementtravelling allowance claims would be with reference to duties and powers of thecontrolling officers enumerated under SR 195 and no separate set ofguidelines would be necessary vide G.I., M.F., D.O., Dy. No. 1914-IV/89, dated the 7thDecember, 1989, in reply to C. & A.G., U.O. No. 1009-A.I./82-86, dated the 1stNovember, 1989.] 6. Payment of Travelling Allowance claims underthese orders may be made by the Treasury Officer in relaxation of Rule 21 of the CentralTreasury Rules, i.e., may make the payment of such claims even after the issue of a lastpay certificate which will be required for the purpose of the finalization of his pension. 7. These orders do not apply to persons who -

(i)	are not in the whole-time employ of the Government or are engaged on contract ;
(ii)	are paid from contingencies ;
(iii)	are Railway servants ;
(iv)	are Members of the Armed Forced; and
(v)	are eligible for any other form of travel concession on retirement.

[G.I., M.F., O.M. No. 5 (109)-E. IV/57, dated the 11th July, 1960 asamended from time to time including O.M. No. 102/98/IC & 19030/2/97-E. IV, dated the17th April, 1998.] NOTE. - The provisions of these orders, as amended from time totime, apply mutatis mutandis to industrial employees in the Government industrialestablishments also. [G.I., M.F., O.M. No. F. 5 (30)-E. IV (B)/65, dated the 27th August,1965.] II. For settling down at the last station ofduty/at a station not more than 20 km. from the last station of duty. - It has beendecided that in cases where the Government servant wishes to settle down permanently atthe last station of duty, travelling allowance may be allowed to the extent indicatedbelow, provided the Government servant concerned is required to change his residence as aresult of his retirement -

(a)	Self and family.	Actual cost of conveyance but not exceeding the road mileage allowance admissible under SR 116 (a) II (i) and (ii).
(b)	Personal effects.	Actual cost of transportation not exceeding the amount admissible under SR 116 (a) II (iii).
(c)	Transportation of conveyance.	An allowance for car/scooter/motorcycle at the rates notified by the concerned Directorate of Transport for taxi/autorickshaws. Where the above allowance is claimed, mileage allowance will not be admissible to the Government servant/ members of family travelling by the conveyance. If they travel otherwise than by the conveyance they will be entitled to the mileage allowance as per SR 116 (a) II (i) and (ii).
(d)	Composite Transport Grant	Equal to one-third of basic pay.

NOTE. - For the purpose of this Order, the term `last station ofduty' will be interpreted to mean the area falling within the jurisdiction of theMunicipality or Corporation, including such of suburban municipalities, notified areas orcantonments as are contiguous to the named municipality, etc., where the Governmentservant was posted immediately before his retirement. The admissibility of travelling allowance as above will also besubject to other conditions for the grant of travelling allowance on retirement ascontained in Order (1) above as amended from time to time. [G.I., M.F., O.M. No. 19016/1/81-E. IV, dated the 13th August, 1981read with O.M., dated 17-4-1998.] (2) Concession extended to employees ofthe Andaman and Nicobar Administration. - It has been decided that theconcession, vide Order (1) above be extended to the employees of the Andaman and NicobarAdministration on their retrenchment/invalidment/retirement subject to the conditions laiddown therein. Accordingly, application of the provisions of SR 150 will now be restrictedto such of the Central Government employees of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration asare not eligible for the concession granted in decision referred to above. [G.I., M.F., O.M. No. 5 (5)-E. IV (B)/61, dated the 20th February,1961.] (3) T.A. for journeys to attenddepartmental enquiry by Government servants after removal/dismissal or compulsoryretirement from service. - The question was under consideration whether and, ifso, at what rates, travelling allowance should be allowed to a Central Government servantswho is removed/dismissed or compulsorily retired from service as a penalty in cases,where, under the orders of the appellate or reviewing authority, it is decided to hold afurther/de novo departmental enquiry and the Government servant is required to attend suchenquiry. It has been decided that the Government servant concerned may be allowedtravelling allowance as for a journey on tour from the place where the summons to attendto enquiry reaches him to the place of enquiry and back but not exceeding that to which hewould be entitled, had he performed the journey from his home town to the place of enquiryand back. The travelling allowance may be regulated in accordance with the pay of the postheld by the Government servant immediately before his removal/dismissal or compulsoryretirement. [G.I., M.F., O.M. No. 19012/1//80-E. IV, dated the 19th April,1980.] (4) T.A. for retired Government servantfor attending departmental enquiry/judicial proceedings against him. - SeeGovernment of India's Order below SR 153-A. (5) No advance of T.A. in case of journeysperformed after retirement. - A question has been raised whether an advance oftravelling allowance under the normal rules can be given in the cases covered by Order (1)above. It has been decided that an advance of travelling allowance may be sanctioned bythe authorities competent competent to sanction such an advance in cases of journeysperformed during leave preparatory to retirement but not in case of journeys performedafter the date of retirement. [G.I., M.F., O.M. No. F. 16-A (10)-E. II (A)/60, dated the 30thNovember, 1969 and Rule 224, G.F.R.]

Supreme Court issues notice to UGC to enhance superannuation age from 62 to 65

New Delhi: 23.02.2009
The Supreme Court issued notices to University Grants Commission (UGC) and state of Bihar on a petition filed by Dr B R Ambedkar Bihar University Senior Teachers Association, praying to the court to enhance their age of superannuation from 62 years to 65 years.

A bench comprising Justices Lokeshwar Singh Panta and B Sudarshan Reddy issued notices after hearing senior counsel M N Rao, R S Singh who contended that the age of superannuation for central universities is 65 years and therefore, there should be uniformity in the age of retirement.

They also contended that qualification and other service conditions are the same in case of state university teachers as well as for the teachers of central universities and therefore, there is no justification for discrimination in the age of superannuation.B R Ambedkar University is situated in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar.

Source: UNI