Archives-News
Yesterday, 23rd September 2015, the Finance Ministry has issued orders
increasing the rate of CDA from 113% to 119% with effect from 1-7-2015.
Com. M Govinda Rajan, Circle Secretary of Chennai TD Circle informs that he has transferred a sum of Rupees 36550 to Reception Committee, Bangalore for our AIC.
Com. K Ramani, District Secretary, Salem West informs that he has transferred a sum of Rs 10,000 to the Reception Committee.
Com. K S Koteswara Rao, Circle Secretary, Andhra informs that they are meeting in Circle Executive Committee on 6th October 2015 at Tirupathi. The branches in AP will make over the AIC Fund to Circle Secretary in CEC meeting. In turn, Circle Secretary will transfer the amount to Reception Committee.
Along with Comrades S Gunasekaran (CHQ Treasurer), R C Malhotra (NTR Circle President), D P S Sisodia (NTR Circle Secretary) and R L Kapoor (Legal Committee Member) Com. G Natarajan, our General Secretary met Member (Finance), DDG (FEB) and Director (Est.) today and discussed the issue of 78.2%.
Member (F) and DDG informed that they have received the DATA from almost all the Circles. Only few Circles are left out. They are making all efforts to collect Data from those Circles also and send it to Department of Expenditure at the earliest possible. Director (Est.) assured that there will not be any delay in Establishment Section and that as soon the file comes back to them it will be processed immediately.
Today, our NTR Circle Secretary Com. D P S Sisodia, along with Shri. K G Sharma (Ex. Telegraphmaster and now a BJP activist in Delhi State) met Shri. Amit Shah, national President of BJP and submitted a representation regarding 78.2% case.
Shri Amit Shah assured prompt action on the case.
Com. G Natarajan, our General Secretary has left Chennai today for New Delhi. He will be in New Delhi for few days.He will meet Member(Finance) and other senior officers and pursue the case of 78.2 which is delayed inordinately.
Com. S Gunasekaran, CHQ Treasurer is also with Com. Natarajan.
BSNL had allowed 20% concession in broadband connection charges to central government employees and PSU employees to capture the market. After some time the concession was reduced from 20% to 10%.
Now, the concession is further reduced to 5% with effect from 1-10-2015.
BSNL management does not recognize the fact that there is stiff competition in the field and that the Private Telecos are waiting outside with attractive offers to the customers.
Higher-ups in the BSNL are taking decisions to help the private companies. After retirement from BSNL, some of these officers may get job in private companies for one or two years. Thereafter, they will be simply thrown out as ‘curry-patha’.
Another section of the members present in the Conference
The case of 78.2% is not closed, as BSNL claims.
It is still pending. Department of Telecom has to forward the Cabinet Note to Cabinet. The Opinion of Department of Expenditure (Finance ministry) has to be attached with the Note. The process is going on. Prime Minister’s Office could not understand the case from Mr. Mistry’s letter.
So PMO sent the case to BSNL. The BSNL feels that it is a "policy matter" and not a grievance.
Hence the Grievance case is closed. The BSNL concealed the fact that they are collecting the 'data'.
This is how an important issue is handled in the PMO or by the BSNL.
The above case can not be closed this way.
There is a wrong notion among many people that if you bring a case to the notice of Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) through internet, the case can be settled very easily. With One click!! Mr D D Mistry of Gujarat based BSNL/DOT Pensioners Association lodged a grievance on 9-9-2015 using the Portal about our case of 78.2% benefit for BSNL Pensioners thinking that it can be thus settled. Today, Mr. Mistry got a reply from the PMO stating that the "Case stands closed.” It is really Funny.
See the details as given in the website of Mr. Mistry.
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S t at u s a s on 1 7 Sep 2 0 1 5
Registration Number: PMOPG/E/2015/0091229
Name Of Complainant: DINESH MISTRY
Date of Receipt: 09 Sep 2015
Received by: Prime Ministers Office
Forwarded to: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Corporate Office
Contact Address: GM(Coordination), BSNL Corporate office,
Room No27, IR Hall, Eastern Court, Janpath, New Delhi.110001
Contact Number: 23717055
Grievance Description:
Respected Sir: BSNL PENSIONERS ISSUE OF 78.2% I.D.A. MERGER W.E.F. 01.01.2007 though got nod from Finance Minister and Department of Telecom , still it is not settled and Department of Telecom is passing time to seek repeated information from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, New Delhi and in turn its asks from Circle and three reminders are issued but no result. Your glance will be sufficient.
Regards
DINESH D MISTRY BSNL AND DOT PENSIONERS ASSOCIATION INDIA
CENTRAL TELEGRAPH OFFICE AHMEDABAD
Current Status: CASE CLOSED
Date of Action: 15 Sep 2015
Details: Policy matter. Not a grievance. The case is closed.
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We are happy to note that many branches are collecting the AIC Fund at the rate of Rs 50 per member to help the Reception Committee at Bangalore to host our next AIC in November 2015 successfully. According to the information CHQ received so far, following amounts have been transferred on-line to Reception Committee account:
Kerala (through Circle Secretary): Rs. 1 Lakh
Madurai (TN) Rs. 35000
Cuddalore (TN) Rs. 15000
Thanjavur (TN) Rs. 15000
Tuticorin (TN) Rs. 13000
Salem East (TN) Rs. 11300
STR DN (TN) Rs. 10000
Virudhunagar (TN) Rs. 10000
Chennai Tfc(TN) Rs. 7500
Karaikudi (TN) Rs. 5000
Nagercoil(TN) Rs. 5000
Jharkhand Rs. 8000
Sambalpur (Odisha) Rs. 6600
CHQ calls upon other branches to remit the amount positively before 30th September 2015. It can be sent through NEFT at minimum cost. [Details were given in Patrika 19.]
LUCKNOW: More than 23 lakh persons have applied against 368 posts of peon in the state secretariat.
What is even more shocking is that over two lakh applicants are at least graduate with BTech, BSc, MSc and MCom degrees. (News)
255 are Phd DOCTRATES ....
24969 are Post-graduates .........
1. 5 lakh are Graduates ...........
11.2 lakh are matriculates...........
The Educational qualification required for the posts is 5th Pass.
But, there is no immediate problem for the UP Govt. According to the officers of UP, to interview these 23 lakh applicants, the authorities may take more than four and a half years. By that time, Assembly election will be there and a new government may come to power.
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ALL INDIA BSNL PENSIONERS’ WELFARE ASSOCIATION
CENTRAL HEADQUARTERS
B-1. 2nd Floor, Shri Sharada Niwas,
3/2 Srinivasa Avenue Road, R A Puram, Chennai 600028
NOTICE FOR
ALL INDIA CONFERENCE
In accordance with the Articles 7 (a), 8(a) and 14 (a) of the Constitution of All India BSNL Pensioners’ Welfare Association, it is hereby notified that the 2rd Triennial All India Conference of the said Association shall be held at Dr. Ambedkar Bhawan, Millers Road, Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore from 10 AM on 21st November to 22nd November 2015 to consider the agenda given below. Shri P S Ramankutty, President shall preside over the conference. Central Office-Bearers, Circle Secretaries and elected Delegates from the District Units shall be eligible to participate in the Conference.
AGENDA
1.Consideration of the Report on the activities of the Association from October 2012
to October 2015
2. Audited Accounts for the years; 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015
3. Issues concerning the BSNL/DoT pensioners
Extension of the benefit of 78.2% IDR in pension revision w.e.f. 1-1-2007
Future pension revision in BSNL
Seventh Central pay Commission report and its aftermath
Pension anomaly case
Extra Increment case
BSNLMRS
Other items concerning the pensioners of BSNL and DoT
4. Organizational Review
Functioning of CHQ/Circle/District Units
Publication of Pensioners Patrika
5. Amendments to the Constitution
6. Election of office-bearers
7. Nomination of Auditor
8. Resolutions
9. Any other item with permission of the Chair.
2nd September, 2015 G Natarajan
General Secretary.
Note: The pre-conference CWC will be held at the venue on 20-11-15 at 14’00 hrs. All CHQ oofice bearers and circle Secretaries are requested to be present
On 21-4-2015 the Principal Bench of CAT gave a landmark judgement that those who retired before 1-1-2006, with less than 33 years of service but with 20 years or more, should also be granted full pension. [Details were given in Page 19 and Page 20 of Patrika 19]
Government went on appeal against this judgement.
Delhi High Court dismissed the appeal.
But, so far, the Government has not issued any order implementing the judgement.
The matter is under consideration of Ministry of Law and Justice.
The Central Cabinet has approved the hike in CDA from July 2015.
The CDA (113% From January 2015) is increased to 119% with effect from July 2015.
For revision of pension with 78.2% IDA benefit, DoT asked BSNL Corporate Office to provide some data about BSNL staff retired before 1-1-2007and those retired after 1-1-2007 but before 10-6-2013.
In turn, on 26-3-2015 Corporate Office asked the Circles to provide it.
As usual, many circles did not respond. A reminder was sent to circles on 17-4-2015. No response.
Another reminder was sent on 10-6-2015. No response still.
Now another reminder is sent on 4-9-2015.
Many more reminder letters may fly from Delhi to Circles ..... WITHOUT ANY RESULT.
This is BSNL now.
Ex-Servicemen were united. Even the retired chief of army and senior officers from all the three wings of Military Services joined together in the fight for OROP. Very senior retired officers came to Jantar Mantar and shouted slogans along with retired jawans of lower ranks. The picture above shows Mr Satbir Singh (Retired Major Genera) shouting slogans.
The unity exhibited by the veterans should be a lesson for entire pensioners in India.
The OROP row represents perhaps the greatest betrayal of this government, Congress leader Manish Tiwari said.New Delhi: The Congress party today called the government's announcement of One Rank One Pension or OROP for retired military veterans as a 'betrayal' of the ex-servicemen's demands and said the scheme was "totally disappointing".
The ruling BJP however said the plan was a 'historic' one, pointing out that previous Congress-led UPA government had only allocated a paltry Rs. 500 crore for a scheme that would actually cost between Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 10,000 crore.
"The OROP row represents perhaps the greatest betrayal of this government. The Prime Minister tried to spin the issue," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari.
Congress leader and former defence minister AK Antony said, "The (Narendra) Modi government has substantially diluted the provisions of the OROP announced by the UPA. Today's announcement about OROP by the defence minister is totally disappointing."
The BJP however welcomed the announcement, calling it a historic decision. Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said, "It is the Congress party's passion to criticise the government for everything, forgetting that they have not been able to fulfil this responsibility when in power."
There is unexpected delay in finalising the Cabinet Note on 78.2% case. The Department of Expenditure in Finance ministry has asked for some data. The DoT has not yet collected the Data and furnished it to DOE.
Our GS, Com. G Natarajan, will be going to New Delhi soon to meet the concerned officers to pursue the case.
Up to 1973, the Ex servicemen at the lower level (Jawans and non commissioned officers) were getting pension at the rate of 70% of their pay. Then it was reduced to 50%. The agitation or One Rank One Pension (OROP) started then. For the last 40 years, the agitation was going on. It became a political issue during the last election to Lok Sabha. Both the BJP and the Congress wanted to take political advantage..... After many ups and downs the Government has come out with a proposal, not fully satisfactory to the war veterans. Anyway 234.5 lakh Ex Servicemen and 6 lakh war widows will get some benefits.
A Report appeared in Hindu Newspaper
".........Fulfilling one of its major election promises in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections of the BJP, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday announced the implementation of the long delayed One Rank One Pension (OROP) for ex-servicemen.
The avowed aim of this announcement, to end the strike by veterans demanding OROP was however hanging in fire with protesting veterans rejecting the “unilateral” announcement as it “dilutes” several core issues from the accepted definition. In an effort to get the veterans on board, Mr. Parrikar met representatives of ex-servicemen later in the day and some understanding has been reached.
“Despite the huge fiscal burden, given its commitment to the welfare of ex-servicemen, the government has taken a decision to implement the OROP,” Mr. Parrikar while announcing the plan, and said the ministry of defence would soon issue a detailed government order.
Government's Offer | What veterans want |
Effective from July 1, 2014 | April 1, 2014 |
OROP will be average of minimum and maximum pension scale in 2013 | Base for pension should be maximum of the pension scale in 2013 |
Revision every 5 years | One or two years |
One-member judicial commission to submit report in six months | Five-member team under Defense Minister to submit report in one month |