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div id=”pcl-full-content”>The Maharashtra state cabinet on Thursday decided to grant one-time option to employees who joined government service after November 1, 2005, to opt for the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), becoming the first BJP-ruled state in the country to take positive steps to implement the scheme at a time when the opposition Congress has been demanding it across the country,
However, the option will be available only on vacancies notified before November 1, 2005.
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In December 2023, over 17 lakh employees had gone on a one-day strike demanding the OPS. The cabinet decision on Thursday will, however, benefit only 4,300 employees. The Maharashtra State Gazetted Officers Association said that they welcome the decision but termed it as a partial success.
“Our demand to implement OPS to all or to offer a scheme that gives identical benefits remains the same. The Chief Minister has said in the assembly that final decision on OPS will be taken in the budget session of the state legislature and we expect a positive outcome then,” said Vinod Desai, president of the association.
The strike in December was the second strike by Maharashtra government employees. In March 2023, after a similar strike, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had announced the setting up of a committee comprising former senior bureaucrats Subodh Kumar, KP Bakshi and Sudhir Kumar Shrivastava to study the old and new pension schemes. The panel was asked to submit a report with recommendations in three months.
The three-member committee submitted its report to Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar in November 2023. Speaking at the Legislative Council in the recently held winter session of the state legislature, Pawar had said that the government was positive on the demand and a decision on OPS was likely before the next budget session after studying the report.
The committee has indicated that the reinstatement of the OPS can be a huge drain on the state exchequer. However, the committee has recommended benefits equal to OPS.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister and then finance minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that the government was not opposed to the implementation of OPS, in principle. The government, he said, wanted to study the effects of its financial burden on the state and would take a decision after doing so.
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