The stalemate surrounding the payment of pension and other pensionary benefits to employees of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Housing Board who retired before bifurcation of the State appears to be heading for a resolution.
The issue of pension liabilities of employees of the housing boards of the two States as well as those who retired from service before the bifurcation of the State will be taken up at a meeting of the chief secretaries of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh slated on Monday. The meeting has been convened following the directives given by the State High Court to resolve the issue relating to payment of pension to retired personnel not later than November 4.
The High Court gave the directions in response to a petition filed by the petitioners alleging that they were being denied pension and pensionary benefits due to them. Senior officials said the Telangana government had been contributing its share of 42 % towards pension liabilities of over 450 pensioners who retired from service before June 2, 2014, the day when the State was bifurcated.
The neighbouring AP government, however, was insisting that it would pay its share of pensions to these pensioners based on their “nativity” as a result of which less than 200 pensioners of the 450 plus were receiving pension and pensionary benefits. The High Court observed that all was not well with the successors of the erstwhile AP Housing Board.
“What is distressing is that pensioners who rendered loyal service to the erstwhile APHB are being made victims of this malady,” the court said. Further, it said it was not open to the successor housing boards to turn their backs upon their pension liability in relation to those who served the erstwhile APHB or even those who retired after the creation of the new boards.
“We are informed that the State governments also intervened in this issue but were unable to come to any sort of consensus as to how to go about addressing this predicament,” the court said. It directed the officials concerned of the two States to undertake the exercise and come to a decision as to how the boards should meet the pension liability of the retired personnel.
The meeting is also scheduled to discuss the controversy related to allocation of officers in the category of DSP (civil), additional SP (non-cadre) and SP (non-cadre) posts between the two States.
A stalemate has been prevailing over the allocation of the officers after the previous AP government gave promotions to more than 35 officers ahead of the previous elections and the Telangana government contended that the promotions were in “utter disregard” of the mutually agreed procedures and had impact on the seniority list prepared for allocation of these officers.
