The State President of Shivalik Vikas Manch, who has been advocating for the reinstatement of the old age honour allowance discontinued by the government a decade ago, has achieved success in the struggle for thousands of retired employees.
These employees, from various corporations, boards, and public sectors, including the HMT factory and BCW Surajpur cement factory, will now receive old age pensions, as announced by the Haryana Government in the 2024-2025 budget.
Vijay Bansal, the former Chairman of the Haryana Government, disclosed that a decade ago, the state government ceased the old age pension for numerous employees, particularly those from the HMT factory in the Panchkula district, including the Kalka assembly constituency. These employees, who were not receiving any pension, were excluded from the Old Age Samman Allowance, even though they only received nominal benefits from the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), amounting to half of the EPF pension of Rs 3000 per month. The government has now proposed amending the Old Age Samman Allowance Scheme to extend benefits to these pensioners, ensuring that those receiving a total amount of government allowance and EPF pension exceeding Rs. 3000 per month or an equivalent pension will receive the revised Old Age Samman Allowance.
This amendment will positively impact thousands of elderly individuals in the state. Retired HMT employees from the Kalka area, BCW Surajpur Cement Factory employees, and former Corporation and Board employees can now apply for old age pensions. Vijay Bansal highlighted that HMT employees’ EPF funds were deducted, providing nominal interest as pension, ranging from Rs 1.5 to Rs 2000. Many HMT employees without EPF funds were facing severe financial crises, as they neither received EPF interest nor government old age pensions.
Despite numerous memorandums and a PIL filed in 2022, it wasn’t until recently that the elderly finally secured their rights.