Chandigarh employees to get benefits of central service rules, says Amit Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday announced that the central services rules will be applicable on UT administration employees, increasing their retirement age from 58 to 60 years.

On a one-day visit to Chandigarh, Shah made the announcement at the inauguration of the Police Housing project at Dhanas. “Now, female employees will get two years of child-care leave instead of one and professors in colleges will retire at 65 years of age,” Shah said, highlighting the benefits to UT employees after coming under the central rules.

Over 16,000 UT employees, including those with the municipal corporation, who are currently governed by the Punjab Services rules, stand to benefit from the central government’s decision.

“The rules will be applicable only on regular employees of the administration and not on deputation to the city from other states like Punjab and Haryana,” said UT adviser Dharam Pal.

Shah said the Union Cabinet had approved the move on Saturday and a formal notification will be issued on Monday, allowing the rules to become effective from April 1.

A long-standing demand of a large section of UT employees, the adoption of the central services rules was earlier rejected by the central government. Even after city MP Kirron Kher advocated the demand, it didn’t get a positive response from the Centre. Unions had even staged protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to press for their demand.

Mixed response from employees

Welcoming the decision, Rakesh Kumar, general secretary, coordination committee of the government, MC employees and workers, Chandigarh, said, “Now, employees will also get automatic and time-bound pay grade upgrade after 10 and 20 years of service, even if they don’t get promoted. Also, some additional allowances are provided under the central services rules.”

Some employee groups though criticised the move. Gopal Dutt Joshi, general secretary of the UT Powermen Union, said, “Punjab pay scales are higher than the central ones.”

Another union leader Balwinder Singh said raising the retirement age will increase unemployment.

Senior BJP leader and former MP Satya Pal Jain said a long -pending demand of UT employees had finally been accepted. On criticism from some Punjab politicians on the Centre’s move, he said, “They should be happy that UT employees will get better benefits. The status of employees in regard to Punjab will not change.”

Notably, the latest recruitments made by the administration were covered under the central service rules.