Telangana: Govt pensioners to launch protests for their pending demands

The pensioners to stage demonstration wearing black badges before the offices of the District Collectorates across the State on July 15, also to observe a silent sit-in protest at Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad on July 30.

Hyderabad: The Telangana Government Pensioners Joint Action Committee (TGPJAC) has decided to take up a phase-wise protest programme, demanding the State government to focus on their unsolved issues. Accordingly, the pensioners will stage a demonstration wearing black badges before the offices of the District Collectorates across the State on July 15. They will also observe a silent sit-in protest at Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad on July 30.

The JAC members submitted a representation to Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari on Wednesday, stating that the State government has been negligent towards addressing their issues. If the government fails to respond, the JAC has decided to chalk out the future course during the JAC council meeting to be held in the first week of August.

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The government pensioners demanded for immediate release of four installments of Dearness Allowance (DA) due to them at once. They wanted the government to make the EHS (Employee Health Scheme) benefits applicable to the pensioners of university non-teaching retired employees, retired college faculty, aided school teachers, GHMC and marketing departments. The government should open at least two wellness centres in every district and at least 10 in GHMC area, along with doctors, staff and medicines. The pensioners sought orders facilitating reimbursement of medical bills within three months.

Under the EHS scheme, the pensioners sought cashless treatment in all corporate hospitals, towards which they have already agreed to contribute one per cent from the basic pension every month. They demanded for increasing the interim relief to 20 per cent as against five per cent sanctioned by the new Pay Revision Commission. They wanted notional increment of Rs 398 given to retired special teachers who worked with fixed pay, to be made applicable for all categories as agreed under the BRS regime.

A director-level officer should be appointed to look into and solve the problems of the pensioners expeditiously. A separate “Directorate of Pensioners” should be established. The repayment period of “commutation value” paid to pensioners should be shortened to 12 years instead of 15 years. The pensioners also sought special Telangana incentive for pensioners on par with the employees and teachers who participated in the Telangana statehood movement. They demanded the State government to allocate 1,000 sq.yards land in Hyderabad for construction of “Pensioners’ Bhavan” to operate the pensioners’ office and other activities.