Extend the benefit of CS(MA) rules to all pensioners who are not covered by CGHS. Increase the FMA to Rs. 2000 pm as has been granted to PF pensioners. Introduce the health insurance scheme as suggested by the 7thCPC.

CGHS came into existence decades back inconsideration of the dire requirement of addressing the health care needs of the Central Government employees. It commenced its operation in a few stations initially and was later widened to cover 26 important towns of the country including almost all metro cities.    It received wider appreciation from the employees and Pensioners.

  However, its expansion was arrested in the post 1991 period, especially after the report of the Expenditure Reform Commission was submitted to the Government.  Its service was curtailed and the budget allocation was drastically reduced.  The number of empanelled hospitals at certain points of time got reduced.   In a city like Mumbai, where number of Central Government employees and pensioners is huge, at some point of time, there had been only one or two empanelled hospitals.

  The health insurance scheme, which was one of the recommendations of the 6^th CPC, did not take off.  The health care has now become abysmally poor. While this is the case of the employees and pensioners in the CGHS covered areas, the situation in other moffusil stations is precarious.  While the working employees have the old CCS (MA) system whereby they could get the expenses reimbursed, the poor pensioners are given a pittance of Rs. 1000 p.m.to meet out the health related expenses.  Most of pensioners, being at the advanced age, require hospitalisation for continuous treatment of the ailments.  Therefore, the demand for the extension of the CCS (MA) Rules had been raised continuously and persistently for many years.  The Government has not responded to this demand positively.  Rather on many occasions, the Govt. has expressed their inability to consider this demand fearing the huge financial outflow.  We request your goodself, to kindly get the matter seriously examined from the humane angle and pending a decision thereon, kindly direct the Department of Expenditure of the Ministry of Finance to increase the FMA toRs 2000 p.m to the pensioners. 

Incidentally, we may also bring to your kind notice that the 7th CPC had recommended for introduction of a health insurance scheme. This is an alternative worth   considering by the Government as the insurance scheme will obviate the financial outflow from the exchequer.  The Departments of Pension and expenditure may be asked to consider this recommendation seriously and evolve a scheme which would go a long way in addressing the health related problems of the pensioners to a very great extent.

Provide notional fixation of pension under Option No.3 on the basis of the pay scale/grade pay/pay level from which the pensioner retired. Provide fixation of pay in the case of all pre 2006 pensioners on the basis of the grade Pay/pay level/pay scale of the post or cadre from which one has retired as per the judgments of the court.

It is the interpretation of the Department of Expenditure that led to the denial of the legitimate quantum of pension in respect of some of the pensioners, who could not avail the benefit of pay scale revision during their service.

 The issue had been the subject matter of judicial scrutiny and the judgements were clearly against the interpretation of the Department of Expenditure.   Instead of accepting these court verdicts, the Govt. had been dragging the poor pensioners to higher courts denying them what is legitimately due to them. 

 While the serving employees are given the benefit of revision of pay scale or grade pay, the same is denied to the Pensioners.  In some cases, the  Govt. has implemented the decisions of the tribunal denying the benefit to the other similarly placed personnel. The attitude of the Department of Expenditure has only led to the increase in the number of cases in the court apart from placing unbearable financial burden on the pensioners. 

 This is also clearly against the principle/policy announced by the Government while setting up the administrative tribunals to the effect that the Govt. would abide by the decisions of these tribunals with a view to speed up the delivery of justice.  It has now become a common practice for the Govt. to approach the High Court and Supreme Court whenever the decisions of the tribunals go contrary to the position taken by the Govt. We request you to kindly direct the Department of Expenditure to reverse their untenable interpretation in the matter and render justice to the Pensioners.

Grant MACP benefit with effect from 01.01.2006 to all civilian pensioners as per Supreme Court judgment.

The recommendations of the 6^th CPC was implemented with effect from 01.01. 2006. However, while issuing the orders the MACP was introduced from a different date i.e. with effect from 01.09.2008.  The matter went first to the Armed Forces Tribunal, where the Govt. lost in as much as the Tribunal made it clear that the Government’s decision to implement MACP from 01.09. 2008 was wrong.

  The Government took  up the matter before the High Court, where again they lost.  The matter went up to the Supreme Court, who also confirmed the position taken by the Tribunal.  Having reached finality, the Government issued orders making the scheme effective from 01.01.2006 but only in the case of armed forces personnel, leaving out the Civilian employees and Pensioners from the ambit of their latest order.  This is despite many decisions of the  Honourable Supreme Court that similarly placed personnel  should not be dragged to the court for redressal. 

 We had taken up this  issue with the Government twice but are disappointed as those communications have not been responded with till date.  We request that the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance and the Department of Personnel may be directed to issue orders extending the MACP Scheme effective from 01.01.2006 in the case of all civilian pensioners.

Implement option No.1 as per the pension fitment formula as recommended by the 7th CPC.

The 7^th CPC in appreciation of the demand placed by the Central Govt. Employees, Officers & Pensioners organisations jointly had recommended two distinct methodology of Pension revision leaving it to the beneficiaries to choose whichever is beneficial to them.  The entire pension community was highly appreciative of the said recommendation and pleaded for the acceptance thereof to the Government. 

 Unfortunately the Pension Department advised the Government not to accept Option No.1 on the ground that it was not feasible to be acted upon. The Government heeding to the said advice accepted the recommendation and issued notification in which it was specified that the acceptance of the Government of the 7^th CPC suggestion is subject to its feasibility of implementation.  The subjective clause in the Notification was without precedence and appeared to be strange.

 In order to meet out the objections from large number of Pensioners, a Committee under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the same Pension Department was set up.   The Committee made the same recommendation to the effect that the suggestion of the 7^th CPC contained in Option No.1 was not feasible. They however suggested to the Government an alternative formulation to replace the recommendation of the 7^th CPC.  This was primarily to benefit the officials in organised Group A service, where career progression was time bound. 

In a written submission made to the Committee, we pleaded for offering all the three alternatives so that the pensioner would be able to choose whichever was beneficial to them.  The Committee’s conclusion that option No. 1 was not feasible was flawed in as much as the document, which the official side affirmed as the bare necessity to implement Option No. 1 was available in the case of 86% of the pensioners, even according to the Committee’s own finding.  The Committee’s report was heavily one sided and was conceived to favour a section of the pensioners, especially those who retired from the higher echelons of the bureaucracy. 

If the third alternative, which was accepted and implemented, had benefited pensioners who had retired from the lower rungs of the hierarchy, it was incidental.  Our submission before your goodself is that the Government, having accepted the recommendation of the 7^th CPC must implement the same.  The feasibility or otherwise of the recommendation must be subjected to critical scrutiny.  The Committee’s finding that the Pay Commission’s recommendation was not feasible had been made to enable them to put before the Government the third alternative.  There is no difficulty in disproving the Committee’s findings on the question of “feasibility”.   A large number of pensioners would have been benefited and the question of parity between the past and present pensioners would have been properly addressed.

(Excerpt from the memorandum submitted to Hon'ble Prime Minister by NCCPA)

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BUNCHING OF STAGES OF PAY IN THE PRE-7TH CPC PAY SCALES CONSEQUENT UPON FIXATION OF PAY IN THE REVISED PAY SCALES BASED ON 7thCPC-CLARIFICATIONS.

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