HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATION INFLICTED AND PERPETRATED AGAINST THE ERSTWHILE 5512 NOW SURVIVING HARDLY 2700) ALL ARE 70 YEARS + OLD FOOD DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES EAGERLY AWAITING TO SEE THEIR PENSION IN THEIR LIFE TIME
Respected Sir,
In our case we had been sending several Grievance petition in the matter of sanction of central government liberalized pension to the left over 5523 foodtransferee employees of whom only about 2700 are alive . The grievance disposal by nodal officer in the Food Department is far from satisfactory for obvious reasons and the matter is being allowed to linger on and it is for time for your good self to interfere and restore the confidence in the pg grievance mechanism of the Central Government. That was the reason why my exclusive prayer direct to your honor Sir.
Respected Sir,
Having failed to get justice I am per forced to knock at the door or right from Highest Authorities of this Great Nation including His Excellency the Vice President of India and His Excellency the Vice President of India was kind enough to find reason on our grievance and advised the Chairman, Food Corporation of India to take action on my grievance petition Sir. Even after that no action forth coming.
Dear respected Sir,
Great injustice and human right violation has peen inflicted , rather perpetrated on the erstwhile employees of the Food Department who were transferred en mass to the Food Corporation of India during 1967 when 5512 employees out of them were singled out and denied pension even after the IV pay recommendations had come to our rescue according to which all cpf optees be should be brought to Central Government Pension Scheme with effect from 01/01/1986. It is a fact on record that there are hardly 3037 employees all India still alive now out of 5512 ex Central Government Department of Food Employees as per bio data submitted by FCI as early as during 2007-08 to the Food Department each day waiting to see our liberalized pension order before our demise and as we are struggling to meet our day to day life became costlier owing to old age medical care. We are employees of Government of India Food Department surviving +70age who are denied pension even after recommendations of two Parliament committee on petition of 14 and 15 Lok Sabha who had confirmed with records documents,evidence that we were wronged and rightly due for pension. As a follow up Food Department had at the fag end of tenure of previous UPA Government was pleased to recommend to the Cabinet for amending the Section 12 A of the Food Corporations Act 1964 to enable the food transferees to opt for liberalized pension scheme of the Central Government which was made available to the Central Government employees after the IV Pay Commission recommendation.
Soon after election the NDA government saw merit in our case and submitted Cabinet Note dated 12/3/15 (reiterating the earlier UPA Cabinet Note dated 20/02/14 (which could not be implemented due to General Elections then). With a view to curtail delay in amending FCI Act 12 A and as per avowed policy of the the Honorable Prime Minister with good intention PMO advised the Food Dept followed up with letters dated 9/9/15 18/9/15 for issuing executive order (more so when the Pension Ministrys 1987 circular is already available but not implemented by the Food Department) in consultation Pension Welfare department rather Amendment to 12 A of FCI Act for delivering quick justice. But the Executives had deliberately made our case to go back to square one for resorting amendment to 12 A of FCI Act citing legal hurdle . In the normal course the Food Department ought to have referred the draft executive order as suggested by Pension department for legal vetting but instead they had sought legal advice for issuing executive orders which is contrary to the spirit of PMO directives. The Food Department now trying to put the blame for the delay on the Finance Ministry where as it is on record that the Honorable Finance Minister had accorded Finance Department of Expenditure Department approval vide its Memorandum No.25(3)/EV/205 dated 30/12/14 as requested by the Food Ministry OM No.H-11013/2/2011-FCIII dated 5th November 2014.
Respected Sir, though it is the policy of the Central Government to simplify procedures to cut delays in processing the disbursal of pension and retirement benefits in our case the matter is delayed over three decades . Therefore we feel ourselves pushed out of bounds as our pension is delayed or denied though we had served the Department of Food and Food Corporation of India from its inception and retired without pension and we have been living without pension over decades. we have made umpteen representations through grievance portal but have been receiving same reply that the Government is considering the amendment to FCI Act , in consultation with the FCI. There is suspicion among st a section or our over 70 years old plus whose number is diminished day by day that there appears to be a hidden agenda to delay and deny us pension as these people are demising day by day they could give natural burial to our claim. If that will be the case why not Central Government give mercy killing to us instead of showing lip sympathy to us? Is it not inhuman to treat the elderly senior citizens like this Sir?
Respected Sir, the NHRC initiatives in the matter of retrial benefits as a human right has been elaborately described in their first edition of human rights commission dated 10th December 2014. This book not only chronicles the Commissions exposition of retrial benefits as human right but also extols its unique undertakings to alleviate the suffering of innumerable families as bereft of their rightful dues thus leading the nodal agencies of the Indian bureaucratic system towards time deliverance of retrial dues and benefits. According to this release , the commission in numerous cases has observed that there was inordinate delay in the payment of the retirement dues to the employees by the authorities. In number of cases payments were made even after a lapse of more than three decades that too after the intervention of the commission. The perpetrators of these violations came out with untenable excuses for non payment of the pension and other retirement benefits to the beneficiaries. According to this release the National Human right Commission reads the denial of retirement benefits as a violation of the right to life and dignity and thus leading the country's nodal agencies in the understanding that pension may be the only source of livelihood and means of survival for a family hence non payment of these benefits has devastating effects on their lives. If these retirement benefits are not made to them the very survival of these retired employees or next of kin and /or family members of the deceased employees comes under question of blatant violation of their human right. The commissions intervention has been endeavored to realize the fundamental objectives enshrined in article 21 of the constitution of India. The Pensioners and the family of the deceased employee have a right to live with dignity and non payment or delayed payment of the pensioner benefits he/they get after retirement/death is violation of his/their right to live with dignity.
I submit that land mark judgement delivered by the Supreme Court of India has not been taken into account according to which Pension is a right and the payment of it does not depend upon the discretion of the Government. Pension is governed by rules and a Government Servant coming within those rules is entitled to claim pension and the government CANNOT take a plea of financial burden to deny legitimate dues of the pensioners and the Government SHOULD AVOID unwarranted litigation and not to encourage any litigation for the sake of litigation.
As already briefly indicated the 5512 (of whom only about 2700 are alive now ) and their family members of the erstwhile food department employees are victim of human right violations which is perpetrated.
Respected Madam, We pray unto thee to kindly be pleased to consider our plight and sufferings and use your good offices with a view to expedite sanction of our Government pension so that those surviving food transferees can see their pension in their life time they mostly being senior citizens of 73 years old.
Yours faithfully,
P. Sadagopan
57 New Raju Street, West Mambalam
Chennai 600033 9884717943/04424899133
Dated 22 /09/2016
