An octogenarian former employee of the ordnance factory at Raipur in Dehradun, Jagat Ram Kainthola, has been making efforts consistently to secure his pension for more than a decade now.
In his communications with the ordnance factory authorities, Kainthola has been demanding that either he be provided with the pension facility or the copy of the pension rule book of the year 1959. The official authorities, however have maintained their stand so far not accepting either of his demands.
A resident of Dehradun, Kainthola had served as an employee of the ordnance factory in Raipur from September 11 in the year 1950 up till November 16 in 1964-rendering a service period of 14 years two months and six days. The octogenarian had rendered an uninterrupted service with a rank of Senior Rate Fixer (Substantive Rate Fixer) --a rare distinction when 99 percent were covered by Contributory Provident Fund-- before resigning from his job November 16, 1964.
He stresses, “I had joined the service on September 11 in 1950, whereas the pension rule book came up in 1959. As per the pension conditions prevalent at that time I cannot be denied a pension on the grounds of pension rule book rules. Even as the officials of ordnance factory are citing pension rule books to substantiate their grounds for denying my pension to me, they should at least give me the pension rule book 1959 which is being denied to me in spite of my repeated requests to the factory authorities for the same,” Kainthola said.
The retiree further states, “Even in spite of suffering caused by deterioration of health condition, I had gone to the Ordnance Factory, Raipur, on May 5 in the year 2009 seeking cooperation from their side on the issue of my pension.
However, the administration of the ordinance factory, Raipur has continued to harass me for a long period stretching about 12 years citing some factor or the other. I have also written to the offices of the prime minister and the Defence minister eliciting their intervention in this case,” he states.
Countering Kainthola’s claims, the Ordnance Factory avers that the employees of the Ordnance Factory Organisation are guided by CCS (Pension) Rules. “According to the rule number 48-A prevalent during the period of resignation by the complainant from Ordnance Factory Dehradun, the minimum qualifying service before voluntary retirement to become entitled for pension was twenty years”, asserts the ordnance factory authorities. The CCS
Pension Rule was made applicable with effect from June 1 in 1972. Countering the factory’s stance, Kainthola points out that he had served in the Ordnance Factory for more than 14 years on a substantive rank and considering this as per Government of India's rule -7 (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules 1958 and as per the point number 30 of the Government of India’s Ministry of Home Affairs letter number 29/20/63 dated August 5, 1965 and linked to– All India Services, and very much entitled to the pension facility, he stressed.