Pension Bahali Sangharsh Samiti has welcomed the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s verdict, delivered on Tuesday, in several cases related to Old Pension Scheme (OPS). However, the organisation said its agitation would continue until OPS is restored for all government employees. As part of its campaign, the samiti will organise OPS Sankalp marches in several districts this month to press the government to accept its demand.
Vijendra Dhariwal, state president of the samiti, said the high court verdict was welcome but urged the state government to implement it without delay. “Our agitation will continue, with OPS Sankalp marches scheduled in Palwal on September 10, Rewari on September 13, Nuh on September 15 and Sonepat on September 20,” Dhariwal said.
Sanjay Singhmar, district general secretary of the samiti, claimed that the high court verdict would bring around 20,000 employees under the ambit of OPS.
“The high court has ruled that employees in certain categories will be eligible for OPS benefits. These include employees whose recruitment advertisements were issued before the October 28, 2005, cut-off date for implementation of OPS but were subsequently re-advertised; employees who were initially appointed on a temporary basis before January 1, 2006, and were later regularised under applicable policies; and employees appointed on compassionate grounds after October 28, 2005, whose applications for employment had been submitted before the cut-off date,” he said.
He further said the court had rejected the employees’ demand to consider August 18, 2008, instead of October 28, 2005, as the cut-off date for the implementation of National Pension System (NPS) in Haryana.
Singhmar urged the state government to restore OPS for all employees, saying timely government action could have prevented employees from having to approach the court.
Claiming that a large number of employees had been campaigning for the restoration of OPS for the past 18 years, Singhmar alleged that the government had ignored their movement and continued to favour NPS. Employees had faced police action, including lathi charges and the use of water cannons, during protests held at the district and block levels as well as in Chandigarh.
“Employees will not retreat from their resolve to restore OPS,” he said.
Singhmar said employees would now hold OPS Sankalp marches in all districts and later stage a major protest outside the Chief Minister’s residence in Kurukshetra on February 7, 2027.
He added that although the court had declined to recognise August 18, 2008, as the legally applicable cut-off date for OPS, the state government could still take a policy decision on the issue and provide immediate relief to affected employees.