Maharashtra cabinet nod for OPS to state employees

The Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday cleared a proposal that offers an option of availing the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to the state government employees who joined the service after November 2005.

The decision comes days after the government as well as semi-government employees and officials went on a strike to press for their demand of restoring the OPS.

The cabinet gave its nod to the proposal that offers an option of the OPS to the state employees who joined the service post-November 2005, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.

Talking to PTI, Vishwas Katkar, general secretary of the Maharashtra state employees' confederation, said, "The cabinet's decision will benefit some 26,000 state government employees who were selected before November 2005 but received joining letters later. This decision will benefit only these 26,000 state employees."

There are as many as 9.5 lakh state employees who joined the service before November 2005 and they already enjoy the benefits of the OPS.

Under the OPS, a government employee gets a monthly pension equivalent to 50 per cent his/her last drawn salary. There was no need for contribution by employees. The OPS was discontinued in the state in 2005.

The state cabinet asked these 26,000 employees to opt between the OPS and New Pension Scheme within six months and submit relevant documents to their departments in another two months.

It is a one-time option for these employees, the CMO statement said.

Under the New Pension Scheme (NPS), a state government employee contributes 10 per cent of his/her basic salary plus dearness allowance with the state making a matching contribution.

The money is then invested in one of the several pension funds approved by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and the returns are market-linked.

The state cabinet also cleared a proposal to charge Rs 250 as toll amount for cars for using the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), the country's longest sea bridge that connects Sewri in Mumbai to Nhava Sheva in neighbouring Raigad district.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the MTHL on January 12. The 21.8-kilometre long bridge will bring down the journey from the current two hours to around 15-20 minutes.

The cabinet gave its nod to the proposal to issue Rs 5 per litre subsidy to the milk producers in the state. The decision was announced in the winter session of the state legislature held last month.

In a revised statement issued later in the day, the CMO said, "The cooperative and private milk dairies should first deposit money as per the procurement rate of Rs 27 per litre to the milk producers' bank account. Once the payment is made, state will transfer its Rs 5 per litre contribution into the same bank account."

"The state government has fixed the standards of the milk at 3.5 fats and 8.5 SNF. If the milk contains more than the prescribed standard points, the dairies can pay 30 paise per extra unit to milk producers. Similarly, for lower points than the standard, 30 paise will be reduced per unit, the CMO statement informed.

The government estimates the total payment of subsidy amount to Rs 230 crore, it added.

In another proposal okayed by the cabinet, the clerks-typists working in the Mantralaya will be given a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 over and above their current remuneration, the CMO said.

The government has approved expenditure of Rs 11.34 crore for the benefit of 1,891 clerk-typists working in Mantralaya.

The decision has been taken as their attrition rate is high with many giving reasons as inadequate and costly accommodation, non-availability of houses on rent and difficulty in travelling to workplace, it added.

The state cabinet cleared a proposal to give Rs 750.49 crore as Maharashtra's contribution to build a broad-gauge railway line between Nanded district and Bidar in Karnataka.

"The state government has adopted a policy of bearing the cost of railway line construction up to 50 per cent to connect rural and backward regions. Of the 157 km route between Nanded and Bidar, 100 km lies in Maharashtra," the CMO said.

With the state government relaxing NPA conditions, some 400 units in Ichalkaranji Powerloom Mega Cluster (in Kolhapur district will benefit, the CMO said.

The cabinet also cleared a proposal to disburse 45 per cent subsidy as a one-time transaction instead of the earlier decision of giving it in three instalments.

A proposal of the state cooperation department that a no-confidence motion cannot be moved against officers for two years, up from the earlier six months, was also accepted.

The wine industry stimulus scheme will be implemented for the next five years to develop the sector in the state, the CMO said.

Industries that have paid the value-added tax would get their rebate in time, which will help people set up units for raisin production and encourage farmers to opt for grape cultivation, the CMO said.