NMOPS to join rally for restoring Old Pension Scheme (OPS) in Arunachal Pradesh

A CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Reiterating its demand for the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), the State Unit of the National Movement for the Old Pension Scheme (NMOPS) has announced to join the nationwide rally on April 16 ‘to show its anguish to the government and highlight the flaws of the new National Pension Scheme (NPS), which is unable to meet the lowest necessity of a social standard of living after retirement from a job’.

Addressing reporters at the press club on Thursday, state unit NMOPS general secretary (GS), Dejum Yinyo, informed that it will organize a peaceful rally to join the nationwide protest on April 16 from Akashdeep to IG Park. In this regard, it has submitted a representation to the Chief Secretary on April 10. He also informed that the central government, through its Parliament Act of 2003, had implemented the Contributory Pension Scheme, which was later termed the National Pension Scheme, replacing the OPS for its employees who joined the service after January 2004. Accordingly, the government of Arunachal Pradesh has implemented it with effect from January 2008.

The government employees appointed to various posts on or after January 1, 2004, are not eligible for the OPS and are forced to opt for the new pension scheme (NPS). The new NPS has broken the social, moral, and financial backbone of the retired employees who have provided more than 30 years of satisfactory services to the state and nation, he added. Yinyo said, "The interests of the government employees have been curtailed by the NPS by not granting any pension after their retirement, even after giving their whole lives for the development of the state and nation".

Further, he informed that the Roing MLA, Mutchu Mithi, had raised the issue during the state assembly session, but the Deputy Chief Minister (DCM), Chowna Mein, responded by stating that it is a central issue, not a state issue, therefore, the state government cannot act on it’.

Therefore, we earnestly request the state government to kindly consider our demand and convert the NPS to OPS, so that the age-old practice of obtaining pensions by the kith and kin of government employees may be maintained, state unit NMOPS GS stated. Several representations and reminders have been submitted to the state government in this regard, but to no avail. A series of democratic movements were organized by the NMOPS, stressing the demand for the restoration of OPS.

NMOPS is a federation of central and state government employees formed to oppose the New Pension Scheme (NPS) of the Government of India.