25th SCOVA Meeting which is scheduled in the month of July 2014

25th SCOVA Meeting which is scheduled in the month of July 2014 – Agenda proposed by Bharat Pensioner Samaj

Proposed agenda 25th SCOVA

MS Sujasha Choudhury

Dy. Secretary (P) DOP &PW

3rd floor,Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market New Delhi -11003

E-mail: [email protected] /[email protected]

Ref : F. No. 42/29/2014-P&PW(G) Government of India Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare 3rd Floor, Lok Nayak Bhavan,Khan Market, New Delhi – 110003 Date: 5 th June, 2014

Regarding: 25th meeting of Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies (SCOVA) scheduled to be held in the month of July, 2014 under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble MOS (PP).

Madam,

Bharat Pensioners Samaj forward hereunder the Agenda items for inclusion in the final Agenda of 25th SCOVA meeting:

1.Implementation of Pricipal CAT judgement dated 01.11.2011 in OA 0655/2010 No.0655/2010 : Now since all appeals & even curative petition filed by the Govt. against the said judgment have been disposed off by the Apex Court & the part judgment indirectly stand implemented vide DOP &PWP OM 38/37/08-P&PW(A) dated 28/01/2013 Regarding Revision of pension of pre-2006 pensioners – reg. (Revised concordance table) DOP & PW should implement the said judgment (which is in REM) in TOTO in case of all pre 2006 Pensioners.

2.Difficulties of BSNL pensioners

a) The BSNL Pensioner has to depend upon two authorities’ i.e. District Head, i.e. SSA and Pension Head, i.e. CCA. The SSA comes into picture for payment of Medical Reimbursement for which a scheme known as BSNLMRS is in force. The payment is made quarterly. In number of cases Pensioners are kept waiting and are not informed about the status of their claims. Though there are clear orders from the BSNL Corporate office to effect payment through ECS, it is not being done.

b) In the number of cases, the Pensioners have pending grievance relating to pay-fixation, promotion etc and has to approach the authorities. There is no machinery for the Pensioner or Pensioners Association to approach the BSNL Authorities and as such they have to struggle indefinitely for settlement of their grievance.

c)The CCA’s are holding Pension Adalat for DOT/BSNL pensioners’ at Circle Level dividing the Circle in few parts and each part has Pension Adalat only once in a year. In such Adalats, for cases related to BSNL which constitute 80% of the total cases one Officers from BSNL attends the Adalat . All the cases related to BSNL are made over to him for further disposal which never happens & Pensioners have to suffer making the exercise futile.

Our proposal

i. Impress upon BSNL Authorities, at all Levels to be accessible to Pensioners Associations.

ii. BSNL Corporate Office, New Delhi may be requested to entertain/respond letters from Pensioners Association, regarding the issues which warrant its intervention .

iii. BSNL Corporate Office, New Delhi may be requested issue instructions to the Chief General Manager Telecom at Circle/District i.e. SSA level to entertain and respond to correspondence from Pensioners Associations.

iv. The Associations should be given time for the meetings to raise pensioners issues at Circle/SSA Head.

v. For BSNL Pensioners Separate Pension Adalats should be held quarterly as is being done by the Controller of Communication Accounts, in each Circle for DOT Pensioners.

vi. Nodal officer for Pensioner should be appointed in SSA/CCA to settle the Pensioners issues.

vii. Like Central Government Pensioners, Pension of BSNL Pensioners should also be revised simultaneously whenever revision takes place The BSNL Pensioners association should be given opportunity to submit their Memorandum on Pension related issues and should also be heard by Wage Revision Committee of BSNL, whenever it takes place.

3.RELHS :Railway administration should disclose to SCOVA members the progress on compliance of following items:

2(i) Smart Card facility to RELHS beneficiaries :

Instruction in this regard were issued vide Boards letter Nos 2007/H/28/1/RELHS/Smart card dated 18.07.2012& 27.8.2012 But the said orders have not been implemented on all the Zones even after Two years. Rly Board is requested to disclose to SCOVA members Zone wise progress with cause of delay if any.

2(ii) On 24th February 2010 during the budget speech Minister for Railways, vide para 51, announced that Rly. outpatient Departments (OPD) and diagnostic centers will be set up at Gurgaon & other cities.

2(iii) RELHS facilities to dependent parents ; The then Rly Minister in her budget speech on25th February 2011 vide para 56 announced extension of medical facilities to both dependent father and mother of railway employees..

2(iv) Minister of Railways in his Budget speech in parliament on 26.02.2013 vide Para 48 iv announced extending the treatment facility in case of medical emergency to RELHS beneficiaries to all cities where hospitals are empanelled either with CGHS or with Railways.

Announcement in budget speech is commitment to Parliament thus warrants time bound action for implementation. So far there is no visible action in this regard. Rly Board should disclose zone wise status to SCOVA members.

4.CGHS: Health care & Medical aid is not a luxury to be possessed by a privileged few .keeping this in view following issue need to be resolved with out delay.

4(i) Discrimination to P&T Pensioners: The Central Government Pensioners, whether they were beneficiaries or not while in service, are permitted to join CGHS on retirement. However the Ministry of Health & FW issued an order dated 1.8.1996 according to which all P&T Pensioners who were not participating in CGHS while in service have been debarred. This order is discriminatory & should be withdrawn forth with.

4(ii) P&T Dispensaries: Following the recommendations of the V CPC and VI CPC, 19 P&T Dispensaries in 12 CGHS Cities have been merged with the CGHS. Instead of now allowing all P&T pensioners irrespective of the station they live, only those who are living in these 12 Cities have been allowed to participate in the CGHS. These instructions are discriminative as all other Central Pensioners are permitted to join CGHS irrespective of the fact where they are living. These instructions too be withdrawn and all P&T Pensioners may be allowed to avail CGHS facilities.

4(iii) CSMA Rules 1944: The CSMA Rules, 1944 should be extended to pensioners living in non-CGHS areas and stations, which are at present not covered by CGHS.

S.C. Maheshwari,

Secretary General, Bharat Pensioners Samaj

Source : Bharat Pensioners Samaj