Oppn corners Punjab govt over OPS implementation, pending DA
Raising the issue during the zero hour on the concluding day of the two-day winter session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, leader of opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa said that finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema had in November 2022 announced the revival of OPS for the state employees, but the government was still to implement the scheme.
The opposition Congress on Wednesday demanded immediate implementation of the old pension scheme (OPS) and release of the pending dearness allowance (DA) installments for the state employees.
Raising the issue during the zero hour on the concluding day of the two-day winter session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, leader of opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa said that finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema had in November 2022 announced the revival of OPS for the state employees, but the government was still to implement the scheme. “The Congress governments in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have already implemented the old pension scheme. When will you implement it in Punjab?” the Congress leader asked.
Chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann had first announced the revival of OPS last year and subsequently in November, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had issued a notification, stating that all the government employees, who are presently being covered under the contributory pension scheme, will be being given the benefits of the old pension scheme. Bajwa also questioned the delay in release of DA installment of employees. “The central government employees are getting 46% DA whereas the state employees get only 34%. Why this discrimination?” he said, asking the state government when it would release the remaining DA. “There is as no dearth of funds for the state government. You said that the government is mopping up through GST,” he added. The state employees’ associations have been staging protests to demand OPS and release of DA installments.
The LoP also requested the speaker to set up two committees of the House to look into illegal mining and the schools of eminence. “The minister is ready and the opposition members also want House committees to look at these two issues,” he said.
The opposition continued to target the state government over the state of health facilities with Congress MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa taking up the issue of shortage of doctors at a hospital in Kalanaur village. He said the hospital had seven doctors in 2020-21 but their number was down 1.5 doctors now. “I am saying that one of them comes only three days a week,” he said, asking the government when it would provide doctors.
Banga MLA Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi took up the issue of slow pace of probe into gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s interview in police custody case, Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh suggested a white paper and an all-party meeting with experts on the Sutlej Yamuna Canal (SYL) canal issue.
Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary raised the issue of implementation of the farm debt waiver scheme for all the self-funded primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS). He said many PACS had not received the benefit of debt waiver so far and the government should waive the loans of all the farmers and labourers immediately.