MUMBAI: Sensing the significance of the old pension scheme among government employees who comprise a good chunk of voters, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde on Thursday told the protesting government staff that the government would decide on the scheme in the Budget session of the state assembly likely in February-March.
“Two senior secretaries of the state government will study the recommendations of the Subodh Kumar committee and give recommendations on the OPS,” said Shinde hours after government and semi-government employees and officials struck work to press for their demand for restoring the OPS.
Speaking to reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises in Nagpur, where the winter session of the state legislature is underway, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar informed the media about discussions held with the representatives of government employees.
He said the government has received the report of the committee on OPS. Several government and semi-government employees in Maharashtra have been demanding restoration of the OPS, which was discontinued in the state in 2005. Under the OPS, a government employee gets a monthly pension equivalent to 50% of one’s last drawn salary.
Under the New Pension Scheme, a state government employee contributes 10% of one’s salary plus Dearness Allowance with the state making a matching contribution. The money is then invested in one of the several pension funds approved by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and the returns are market-linked.
“We told them (representatives of those demanding OPS) the Mahayuti government will take a positive decision before the Assembly polls. But, they wanted it to be done as soon as possible,” he said.