Woman awaits late HM husband’s retirement benefits for 11 years
SALEM: The wife of a late school headmaster in Salem has been awaiting his retirement and death benefits for 11 years from the state government.
J Revathi of Fairlands in Salem said she has been running from pillar to post because educational officers of the School Education Department in Salem have been unjustifiably delaying the benefits due.
The 61-year-old recently petitioned the School Education Secretary, urging him to ensure the payment of benefits and demanding action against educational officers.
Revathi told TNIE that her husband, C Jothirlingam, who was the headmaster of a government-aided school in Salem, passed away in September 2014 and she received a gratuity of Rs 10 lakh in 2015.
“Except for the gratuity and pension, I have not received any death-cum-retirement benefits such as leave encashment, lifetime arrears, final closure amount etc from the state government so far,” she said, adding that, along with her, four other legal heirs have been struggling to receive their benefits from the education department.“No action has been taken by educational officers from the block to the state level despite repeated petitions to them,” Revathi stated.
“Although I had submitted all documents, including legal heirs for death-cum-retirement benefits to the present Block Educational Officer (BEO) of Salem Urban, who has been in service for nine months, she delays them by repeatedly asking for the same documents,” she said.
She further alleged the officers forced her to wait from morning to evening when she went to the office. N Chandrasekar, the president of Tamil Nadu Teachers and School Protection Association, told TNIE that on May 9 the Director of Elementary Education had directed officers to clear the benefits to eligible persons by May.
“Without adhering to this, the BEO intentionally caused delays, possibly expecting something from the petitioner. In particular, if benefits are not disbursed on time, the government must pay the benefit amount with 12% interest as per norms. As a result, the government faces revenue loss. The school education secretary should take action against the officers who are lethargic in their duty,” he said.
He pointed out that if BEOs had done their duty, the petitioner would have received benefits within three days. He also said that this issue is rife in most block education offices except for a few.
When contacted, BEO of Salem Urban K Chandrika told TNIE that they have taken steps to provide the benefits, and for this, some documents have been requested from her. District Educational Officer for primary, Maanvizhi, who directed the BEO to take immediate action on this matter last month, told TNIE that they have been taking steps.
A top officer from Directorate of Elementary Education told TNIE that he would take immediate action regarding this.