Govt told to devise SOP to facilitate pensioners

SC directs services secy to start preparing pension cases

of govt employees six months before retirement

The Supreme Court directed the advocate general, accountant general, finance secretary and services secretary on  Friday to formulate a standard operation procedure for preparing pension cases of government employees six months before their retirement.

The directive came at a hearing of an application of Samandar Ali Hasbani against the non-payment of his pension benefits.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim observed that no mechanism had been provided at the accountant general’s department and other government departments to prepare pension cases of employees and disburse pension benefits to them at the time of their retirement.

The court inquired the accountant general why retired government employees had to move from one department to another department for getting a no demand certificate despite the accountant general’s department having been intimated about each and every transfer government employees.

It observed that the accountant general’s department piled on the agony of retiring government employees. It observed that retired government employees had to move one district to another for getting certificates due to mismanagement and the complex system of the government departments.

The accountant general submitted that the department had no computerised pension records and admitted to several lapses on the part of the departments, saying that the same situation existed in the district account departments. He also placed the record of pensioners and submitted that cases were processed within one week if required papers were submitted by pensioners.

The court inquired the accountant general why the computerisation of government employees was not made and centralised. It directed the advocate general to formulate a standard operating officer to ensure that government employees got their pension benefits on the date of their retirement. The court told the services secretary to start preparing pension cases of government employees six months before their retirement.

The advocate general was further told to get information from the secretary establishment, which had already made a mechanism for giving pension benefits to federal government employees on the date of their retirement.