Archives-News
Comrades P S Ramankutty (Advisor), P Gangadhara Rao (Vice President) and V Vara Prasad (GS) met in Bangalore during the special CEC meeting of Karnataka Circle on 21st October 2024. On the occasion they reviewed further developments with regard to the Commutation case. Following points were noted:
1. Our Patiala CWC adopted a resolution on the issue. Same will appear in next issue of Pensioners’ Patrika. We demand a general order honouring various judgements and also taking into consideration the 5th CPC report and Judicial Commission recommendation. We have given clear justification for reducing the recovery period from 15 years to 12 years.
2. State Government of Punjab follows central government pattern in the matter and hence the recovery period is 180 months for its pensioners. Whereas, some other state governments like Kerala, Odisha, Gujarat etc. have different rules.
3. Hon’ble High Court of Punjab & Haryana has given interim orders in number of cases to stop recovery after 128 months. The cases are still pending and naturally a general order can be expected only after the final decision is given by the HC. It may take some more time.
4. CAT Chandigarh has ordered to stop recovery after 135 months in a case filed by two BSNL retirees. It has been honoured by CCA Haryana.
5. CAT Allahabad too has given order to reduce recovery period in another case filed by one BSNL retiree. CAT Chennai too has given similar orders. As such, the BSNL retirees are covered by the said Court orders. At the same time, DoT may delay a decision as different benches of CAT have suggested different recovery period. Moreover, the DoP&PW has not yet taken any final decision in the matter.
6. All the VRS (BSNL) optees will be benefitted by the decision of the Court. They will complete ten years of repayment in 2030 or later on. Out of the one lakh and odd beneficiaries among the BSNL Retirees large number is our members. Therefore, there is sufficient cause for filing a case by our Association. But it is a laborious job to file a case involving all the affected members.
7. The case has to be filed in PB, CAT only for pan-India application.
8. PB, CAT has also pronounced a judgement for reducing the recovery period in O.A. No. 2307/2024. Similarly, the Armed Forces Tribunal also gave a favourable judgement. But the Government filed an appeal before Delhi HC and the Division Bench granted a stay in W.P(C) 12781/2024 & CM APPL.53286/2024 on 11/09/2024. The case is postponed to 3/12/2024. So, let us wait for the final outcome of the said case in Delhi HC.
9. Hence, it is felt that, instead of rushing to the Court with a WP, we should first assess the number of beneficiaries. Hence, our Units should collect data of members to be benefitted by the legal action. This work should be completed as early as possible. Once the data is available CHQ can review the situation again.
10. The Staff Side in JCM (NC) has taken up the matter as a common case. It is prudent to wait for the outcome of efforts being made by Staff Side and the cases pending in different courts also.
Recently, due to the floods in Vijayawada city, members of the All India BSNL Pensioners Welfare Association (Reg. No. T1833/09) from areas such as Singh Nagar, Ayodhya Nagar, Bhavanipuram, Ramalingeshwar Nagar, and Ramakrishnapuram have been affected.
In response, donations were collected from members of the BSNL Pensioners Welfare Association across the state to provide assistance to those impacted. The total assistance amount of Rs. 9.15 lakhs was distributed on 25-10-2024 during a program held for this purpose in Vijayawada, benefiting approximately 85 members
The event was graced by General Secretary V. Varaprasad and Krishna District BSNL General Manager L. Srinu as chief guests.
This initiative was organized under the leadership of AP Circle President K.S. Koteswar Rao, Circle Secretary D. Venkateswara Rao, Circle Treasurer K.J. Narayanachari, Krishna District President K.K.R.N. Poornachandra Rao, District Secretary C. Bhaskar Rao, and other district executive members.
The beneficiaries expressed their heartfelt gratitude and satisfaction for the assistance provided by the Association. Photos
Pilibhit District Conference was held on October 24, 2024 in the presence of Circle Secretary (UP -West) : Sh. Kailash Gautam Area Secretary: Sh. Birjlal Ji (Bijnor) District President (Sambhal): Sh. Sagar Singh. The following were elected unanimously
District President: Sh. Ramkishor Mishra
District Secretary: Sh. H.S. Ram
District Treasurer: Sh. Ved Prakash
Assistant District Secretary: Sh. Raj Kumar Sharma
The 6th District Conference of the AIBSNLPWA Bangalore District, held on 22nd October 2024, was presided over by District President Com. K. Ranganayakulu. Sri B. Venkateswarlu - PGM (BGBA) as cheif guest greeted the conference.
Central Headquarters (CHQ) and Circle leaders attended, :Com. P. S. Ramankutty - Advisor Com. V. Vara Prasad - General Secretary (GS) Com. P. Gangadhara Rao - Vice President (VP) Com. G. Babu - Assistant General Secretary (AGS) Com. A. Savitha - Organizing Secretary, CHQ Com. Hosamani - Organizing Secretary, CHQ Com. Virupakshaiah - President, Karnataka Circle Com. Jayashankar - Secretary, Karnataka Circle Com. Subramani - District Secretary, Kolar Com. Hiriyanna - District Secretary, Chikkamagaluru Com. Ranganna - District President, NFTE, BGBA Com. J. Kumar - District Secretary, NFTE, BGBA
The conference was well attended by about 250 members. General Secretary Com. V. Varaprasad and Advisor Com. Ramankutty have addressed the meeting on pension revision and other pertinent issues. .
The following office bearers were unanimously elected:
- Com. K. Ranganayakulu - President
- Com. R. Janardhana have addressed in detailsRao - District Secretary
- Com. K. Deepak - Treasurer
Com. R. Janardhan Rao continues to serve as District Secretary.
The special Circle Executive committee meeting of Karnataka Circle was held at Bangalore on 21st October 2024, under the presidentship of com P A Virupakshaiah. Com P S Ramankutty Advisor CHQ and Com V Vara Prasad General Secretary addressed the gathering.
CHQ Office bearers Com P Gangadhara Rao, Com G Babu, Com C K Hosamani, and Com A Savitha also addressed. Due to health reasons, the resignation of Com R Changappa as Circle Secretary was accepted. In his place, ACS Com Jayashankar was coopted as the new Circle Secretary.
The District Conference of the All India BSNL Pensioners' Welfare Association, Kashganj, UP (West), was held on 19th October 2024. The meeting was presided over by District President, Com. N.P. Singh.
Circle Secretary, Com. Kailash Gautam, and Circle Treasurer, Com. J.K. Sharma, addressed the gathering.
Following office bearers were elected unanimously for the new term:
President: Com. N.P. Singh
District Secretary: Com. Attar Singh
Treasurer: Com. S.C. Saxena
As per above Order, under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2021, pension or family pension revisions cannot disadvantage pensioners unless due to clerical errors identified within two years of authorization. The relevant administrative Ministry or Department decides on the necessity of such revisions. If excess payments are found, they may be waived after consultation with the Department of Expenditure; otherwise, pensioners will be notified to repay the excess, which will be adjusted from future pension payments as directed by the Head of Office.
The Contempt Petition related to our Pension revision case was listed to day but has been adjourned to 10-01-2025 to await the outcome of the proceedings before high court.
District Conference of ETAH (UP -West) was successfully held today, 18-10-2024, at Etah, U.P. West. The meeting was presided over by District President Com. A.K. Pundee.
The conference had attendance with over 70 members. Com. Kailash Gautam, Circle Secretary UP (West) has addressed.
The following office bearers were unanimously elected:
President: Com. Udaiveer Singh
Secretary: Com. R.K. Sharma
Treasurer: Com. V.N. Singh
AIBSNLPWA has requested the DoT to implement the recent DoPT order on granting notional increment for pension revision. Citing favorable court rulings, the letter seeks to extend this benefit to eligible absorbed BSNL employees.
Click here to read : notional-increment-to-secy-dot.pdf
This Office Memorandum (OM), dated 14th October 2024, issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions (Department of Personnel & Training), addresses the grant of notional increment to Central Government employees retiring on 30th June or 31st December, whose annual increment would have otherwise been due on 1st July or 1st January, respectively. The OM was issued in compliance with Supreme Court orders and pending review petitions, detailing interim directions.. Effective Date: The notional increment will apply for pension calculation from 01.05.2023 onwards, not retroactively before 30.04.2023. These instructions apply only to pension calculations, not other pensionary benefits, and are subject to the final outcome of a pending Supreme Court review expected in November 2024.
Nagercoil District held its district conference on 08-10-2024. District President Com Rajan Babu presided. More than 160 members attended. Circle Secretary Com Sundara Krishnan addressed the conference. The following Office bearers were unanimously elected. President : Com S Eugine, Secretary Com Kasi Treasurer Com Balan. The Outgoing Secretary Com A Chelliah has actively organised the conference .
08-10-2024 : Update on today's hearing at the High Court. The case, listed as items 44-46, was not heard due to time constraints, despite our lawyer's efforts to have it mentioned in the morning and their request to the bench to take it up in the afternoon. The matter reached at 4:15 pm, but due to the late hour, the court couldn't start the hearing.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for 21st November 2024.
Ernakulam is the biggest Dist Unit of our Association in Kerala. It has 2600 members and 10 Branches. Aluva is the biggest branch with 500+ members. For better effective functioning, Aluva branch is now bifurcated and new Branch at Angamaly is formed today with more than 200 members. Com R N Padanair, AGS and Com T P George, CS attended the formation meeting. Kochin Airport is at Angamaly.
.