The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took decision to rectify the anomalies in the pension benefits of High Court Judges elevated from bar and approve proposal to sign agreement with UNESCO for establishment of a Centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia-Pacific region at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun. The Cabinet also decided to release of wages directly to the accounts of the workers engaged under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The Cabinet removed anomalies in pension benefits of High Court Judges elevated from the bar, thereby implementing an order of the Supreme Court. For pensionary benefits, ten years practice as advocate will be added as qualifying service for High Court Judges elevated from the bar, as ordered by the Supreme Court in a judgement in March last year. The Cabinet decision seeks to give effect to this judgement. “We have accepted the order of the Supreme Court in toto,” highly-placed sources said after the Cabinet meeting.
The proposal for signing the pact with UNESCO, which was mooted by the Environment Ministry and the Centre, will provide capacity building support to countries in the region for upkeep of heritage and natural sites. This is the first time that an existing institute will be accorded recognition by UNESCO. There are nine category-2 centres related to cultural heritage and the centre at WII is the first for natural heritage.
The scheme to release direct wages to workers will ensure bring greater transparency in movement of funds and lesser levels of corruption in MNREGA. Sources say that despite implementation of the electronic fund management system (e-FMS), delays in payments have been increasing due to delays in release of funds by the Centre, multi-level release system, continued parking of funds at various levels and inability of implementation agencies to get funds in time for payment.
This, they added, called for further steps to improve the system to assure timely availability of funds as per demand.