TMA staff, pensioners waiting for payment of outstanding dues

Rawalpindi

Hundreds of retired employees as well as serving staff of Tehsil Municipal Administration, Rawal Town are in a grip of tension and restlessness due to non-payment of their pensions and salaries which are delayed and not paid on regular basis.

The retired employees alleged that their payment of pensions are outstanding for more than seven months because of which they are badly suffering financially and failing hard to meet their daily expenditures. The Punjab government on one hand announces increase in their pensions during national budgets but on the other hand have failed to release required funds for payment of their pensions which remain outstanding for more than 7 months.

Similarly, TMA, Rawal Town at present is short of funds and finding hard to pay salaries to the serving employees which are delayed by weeks, alleged the working staff.

The retired and serving employees headed by Ghulam Mohammad Naz, president of All Pakistan Local Government Workers Union stated that on one hand, the present Punjab government is spending billions of rupees on developmental and construction works all over the province but on the other hand is failing to allocate sufficient funds to the local government departments for payment of salaries and pensions to the employees on regular basis.

Ghulam Naz was also critical over exemption of octroi and enforcement of General Sales Tax in its place. Through this way the governments including federal and provincial have generated huge revenue despite having no right to do so, he claimed.

Similarly, the provincial government by dividing parts of the local departments have affected their images which are unable to generate revenue even for meeting their own expenditures. The institutions which were under the local governments like schools, dispensaries, general bus stands etc were taken away from their charge particularly TMA, causing huge loss to the economy. The local government departments like TMA have no resources to generate revenue other than octroi, general bus stand fees, dispensaries and educational institutions. But the provincial government have curtailed powers of the departments working under it, Ghulam Naz alleged.

The employees both serving and retired have made strong appeal to the Punjab Chief Minister to allocate funds to TMA and issue orders to the concerned authorities for payment of more than 7 months pensions.

The retired and serving employees also warned of staging a protest demonstration if their demands related to pensions and salaries are not met.

When approached, Tariq Waheed, Deputy Director, of Disbursement Section, TMA, clarified that the claims of retired employees are not genuine. Rather, he said the TMA has paid pensions to its retired employees who were related to this department. “The remaining employees, who were once associated with TMA, Rawal Town were accommodated in other local government departments like Wasa, Punjab Housing and Planning Department etc. It is the responsibility of these local departments to pay pensions to those employees who were once associated with TMA,” he added.

Similarly, Tariq Waheed said that the total funds required for payment of pensions to retired employees amounts to Rs30 million whereas TMA has only Rs8 million to pay pensions. In order to pay pensions to every retired employee, we have demanded grant from the Punjab government amounting to Rs 250 million, he told.

Anyhow, Tariq Waheed has asked the affectees to approach him in person to claim their pensions which would be paid according to the rules. The affectees could approach him within next fifteen days in order to get their outstanding amount of pensions, he added.