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Kannur (Cannanore) SSA Unit of our Association in Kerala is facing all types or opposition and pressure from various forces. But our Kannur Comrades are determined. The Unit has enrolled maximum number of Life members during the last one year. Out of the 341 members 310 are life members.
The annual general body meeting held on 12-5-2017 was inaugurated by Com. P S Ramankutty and addressed by Comrades T P George, R N Pada Nair and T Ramchandran and others.
Coms. P Sugunaretnam, C Krishnan and M K D Nambiar are re-elected as District President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
More than 25 BSNL pensioners who were members of other organizations at Koppal in Raichur SSA of Karnataka have joined our Association on 12-5-2017 in a special meeting organised at Koppal on the initiative by Com. K G Deshpande (AI Org Secretary) and Com. R Changappa (CS KTA).
Comrades A H Desai, K G Hunugund and Gondi are elected as branch President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
Calicut SSA branch in Kerala held its annual general body meeting on 11-5-2017. More than 300 members attended it. Com. P S Ramankutty (National President), Com. T P George (Circle Secretary), Com. R N Pada Nair (Circle President), T Ramchandran (Circle VP) and other leaders addressed.
A unique feature of Calicut branch, led by Smt. Anmnie Preman (DS), is that it organizes charity activities with the fund collected from its members every year. Last year, it has spent Rs. 124000 on charity work. In the meeting itself, the SSA Unit handed over cheques to Paliative Care Society of Calicut and The Ekalavya School (providing free education to adivasi students in the adjacent Wynad district).
On seeing a news item in the newspapers that a girl from a poor family in the Calicut district passed the SSLC examination with A+ in all the subjects, the District Unit invited the girl to the meeting and handed over a cheque. It was also declared that District Unit will meet all the expenses for her education for next two years. Some Members also donated liberally to the girl on the spot.
Comrades T Ramachandran, C K Surendran and C Jayanandan are elected as new District President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
A view of members attending Calicut meeting
Com. P S Ramankutty inaugurates the meeting.
Coms. Annie Preman, N Chandu, T P George, R N Padanair, KCK Nair, T Ramachandran, PNN Moosad are seen in the picture.
MANGALORE DISTRICT BRANCH OF AIBSNLPWA HAS 272 MEMBERS. ALL THE 272 ARE LIFE MEMBERS.
Mangalore District Conference was held on 5-5-2017. Com. P Gangadhara Rao (Dy GS and Circle President of Karnataka ) and Com. R Changappa (CS, Karnataka) attended and spoke in details about various issues concerning BSNL pensioners.
Comrades H Ramakrishna, K Chandramohan and U Seetharam Bhat are elected as District President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
2 photos of the conference:
As usual, wide publicity is given by the press for the Cabinet Decision on Option for Pension revision.
Details will be known only when the order is issued. Seventh Central Pay Commission had recommended two Options. Option 1 was beneficial to old pensioners, retired before 2006. Govt. had accepted it in principle but appointed a Committee of officers to examine if the Option 1 is feasible. That committee has submitted its report now suggesting a third Option.
Details will be known only when formal order is issued. However, it can be said that the new Option No 3 is much less beneficial than Option No. 1. DOT Pensioners should wait for the formal order and act upon assessing the actual benefit.
Time and again, we brought to the notice of Director (HR) of BSNL the cases of inordinate delay in settlement of medical claims by pensioners. Smt. Sujata Ray, Director (HR) is very much concerned of the delay in the matter. There is no dearth of instructions and guidelines in this regard from the Corporate Office .Her Office has issued fresh guidelines on the policy of BSNL. Same is given here:
Please click here to see the CO order dated 3-5-2017 . med-policy-may-17.pdf
WARM MAY DAY GREETINGS TO ALL
Com. M. Govindarajan, Circle Secretary of Chennai TD Circle has sent a copy of the Option Form adopted by the Chennai TD Circle Office. It is attached here. Circle/District Secretaries are requested to meet the concerned officer and ensure that Option form is approved and circulated.
Despite our request, the BSNL Corporate Office has not yet issued any format for option to be taken from pensioners for Medical Allowance.
It seems it is left to the Circles/SSAs. We have received copies of format circulated by SSA offices.
Most simplest form is given here:tvm-mrs-form.pdf
Unlike in the past, this time there is undue and inordinate delay in revision of pension with 78.2% in both Andhra and Telengana circles. BSNL pensioners are very much agitated over it. Our circle Associations declared dharna earlier. Then came the new instruction from Member (F) to complete the process by 10-4-2017. So, our circles postponed the programme. But, even after ten days passed since the second target date, the process is very much disappointing.
Hence, on 26-4-2017, Andhra Circle organised a massive dharna in front of CCA office at Vijayawada and Telengana Circle Unit organised massive dharna in front of CCA Office at Hyderabad. Hundreds of Pensioners participated in the dharnas despite scorching sun above their heads and the boiling sand below heir feet.
BSNL pensioners have expressed their anger over the delay. We do hope that the authorities in AP and TG Circles will take note of it and take suitable remedial action to extend the benefit of 78.2% to all the pensioners without further delay.
Dharna at Vijayawda by Andhra comrdes
Dharna at Vijayawda by Andhra comrdes
Dharna at Hyderabad by Telengana comrades.
Dharna at Hyderabad by Telengana comrades.
Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Government of India introduced a new system some time back, called CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System). Pensioners can register their complaints/grievances online through the system. It was announced that concerned authorities will attend to the complaints/grievances within 30 days. But, BSNL and DOT do not redress the grie3vances in most of the cases within the prescribed time. DoT finds fault with BSNL some times.
Director(HR) of BSNL has issued fresh instruction in this regard asking all concerned officers in BSNL Circles to have regular meeting with CCA offices and take prompt action.
As told to Com. P S Ramankutty by the GM (Admn) of BSNL Corporate Office on 13th instant, the Corporate Office has issued instructions to all for collecting the options from Retirees for without Voucher scheme and maintain a data of the same.
The three orders are given below.
Note that the scheme is restored for Retirees only, not for serving staff.
Third Circle Conference of Haryana was held at Bhiwani on 16-4-2017 under the president ship of Com. J S Dahiya. Com. Omprakash, District Secretary of CITU and Com. R C Jagga, President, Haryana Govt Pensioners Sangh addressed the conference.
Comrades J S Dahiya, J S Malik and Ramphool Saini are elected as Circle President, Circle Secretary and Circle Treasurer respectively.
: Today at 12 noon I along with J S Dahya and Anupam Kaul met Smt Sujata Ray, Director HR of BSNL and thanked her for restoring without voucher scheme.
We requested her to clarify about option and periodicity of MRS card.
She directed us to meet the GM (Admn.)
We met GM then.
1. Pensioners have to exercise fresh option with/without voucher. A proforma is being issued to SSAs to collect and register options.
2. MRS Cards are issued for one year, 2 years, 5 years by circles. We wanted standardisation.
Circles will be directed to obtain undertakings from pensioners every year instead of renewing the card , like life certificate.
3. 2007 order is being revised on rent free telephone connections. The word free local calls is being replaced by metered calls.
PSR
THERE WERE NEWS OF RESTORATION OF WITHOUT VOUCHER FACILITY FOR PENSIONERS FOR SIX MONTHS FROM APRIL FIRST. WE DECIDED TO WAIT FOR ORDERS.
FINALLY BSNL CORPORATE OFFICE VIDE ITS OM DATED 11-4-17 HAS ORDERED RESTORATION OF WITHOUT VOUCHER FACILITY FOR BSNL PENSIONERS FROM 1st APRIL. IT WILL BE 50% OF ELIGIBLE AMOUNT FOR ONE YEAR OF THE PENSIONER AND PAID IN 4 EQUAL QUARTERLY INSTALMENTS. IT IS ALSO SAID THAT THE SCHEME WILL BE REVIEWED AFTER SIX MONTHS(A NORMAL TERM USED FOR ANY ORDER FACILITATING REVIEW PROVISION)
WE ARE HAPPY THAT OUR CONSISTENT APPEALS FOR RESTORATION SINCE ITS WITHDRAWAL FROM 2011 TO THE BSNL AUTHORITIES HAS YIELDED FAVOURABLE RESULT. LATEST BEING OUR APPEAL TO CMD BSNL IN PERSON ON 31-12-16 WHEN HE VISITED CHENNAI AND OUR DISCUSSION WITH DIRECTOR (HR) ON 21-2-17 AT DELHI.
WE ARE EXTREMELY THANKFUL TO THE BSNL AUTHORITIES FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS
JHARKHAND CIRCLE CONFERENCE was held at Jamshedpur on 9-4-2017. Comrades G Natarajan (GS), Mrs T S Pillai (VP), K Muthiyalu (OS) and Com. T S Vittoban (Treasurer) participated on behalf of CHQ and spoke on various issues in detail. Com. A K Singh (CS, Bihar) and Com. B N Behera (CS, Odisha) also attended.
A view of the Delegates
CGM, Jharkhand lighting the Lamp
Comrades B D Jha, R N Singh and Bharat Mishra are elected as Circle President, Circle Secretary and Circle Treasurer respetively
Our Punjab Circle Unit held its Executive Committee meeting on 9-4-2017 in Parwana Bhavan, Patiala. Com. Sher Singh, AGS and Com. Atma Ram Verma, Org. Secretary participated on behalf of CHQ.
Two photos
As we have reported earlier, through this website as well as Pensioners Patrika, in 7 Circles including Kerala, MP, Chhatisgarh, Orissa, Rajasthan etc. the concerned CCAs refused to count the extra increment granted to Grade III officials one year before their retirement as PAY while the pension was fixed. In most of the Circles it was treated as pay and pension was granted with the said increment.
In Kerala, our Circle Association along with five retired BSNL employees who got the extra increment approached the CAT. On 15th March 2012, the CAT ord ered that the said extra increment should be treated as Pay even if the pay had crossed maximum of the pay scale. CCA did not honour the CAT verdict. He filed Appeal in the High Court. The High Court upheld the CAT verdict. Then, CCA granted the benefit only to the five pensioners who were Applicants in the Case.
Our Association demanded that since Association is the applicant 1 in the case the benefit should be given to others placed in similar situation.
After lot of delay the CCA is now issuing orders refixing the pension counting the extra Increment also. Copy of one of such orders is given below.
I suggest that in other Circles, the affected Members can apply to the concerned CCA to refix their pension taking into account the Extra Increment granted by BSNL.
Please Note: Those who did not get the Extra Increment before retirement, can not claim it now, whatever be the reason for not getting it.
...P S Ramankutty
Copy of the Order issued to one Shri Madhusoodhanan Nair K, Trivandrum
Dept. of Public Enterprises has issued orders fixing the rate of IDA from April 2017. It is 117.1% only.
There is a reduction of 2.4% from the existing rate of 119.5% applicable from January 2017.
As per the calculations given in the order the IDA should bed 117.15%. 0.05% is ignored.
TH orders: ida-april-2017-2.pdf
Tamil Nadu Circle held its CEC meeting on 2-4-2017 and 3-4-2017 at Virudhunagar, near Madurai. All India leaders Comrades G Natarajan (GS), D Gopalakrishnan (VP), K Muthiyalu (Org. Secretary as well as CS), V Rama Rao (Asst Treasurer as well as CP) and S Arunachalam (Org Secretary) participated. Virudhunagar district unit is a small unit comparing with others SSA Units like Madurai, Tirunelveli etc. But they made all arrangements for the successful conduct of the CEC meeting. About 500 members of the District and nearby areas also attended the meeting.
Few photos showing Comrades Natarajan, DG, Muthiyalu and Rama Rao addressing the meeting:
