CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ordered the state finance secretary T Udhayachandran to personally appear before the court on December 5, in connection with a petition related to delay in settling long-pending pension benefits to the retired staff of University of Madras.
The order passed by Justice N Anand Venkatesh on November 25 directed the finance secretary to file an affidavit detailing the concrete steps the government plans to take to clear the arrears.
The finance secretary had submitted a report to the court which mentions that pension arrears amounting to Rs 95.4 crore is due for settlement to the retired staff for the period between April 2015 and September 2025.
Calling the situation alarming, the judge observed that the government can no longer delay its response and emphasised that the finance secretary “shall necessarily come up with a solution” to settle the entire dues without any further procrastination.
The court recalled that during a previous hearing, the finance secretary had assured full cooperation to ensure timely disbursement of pension benefits.