DUTA seeks Prez intervention on pension scheme issue

Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) has urged President Pranab Mukherjee to intervene into the DU's decision to challenge a recent High Court judgement allowing the varsity staff to avail the GPF scheme even if they have not opted for it.
"We write to seek your urgent intervention against the decision of the Executive Council of Delhi University on August 14, which threatens stoppage or withholding of pension and retirement benefits to thousands of employees, both in service and retired," DUTA President Nandita Narain said in the letter.
In 1987, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had issued an official memorandum stating that the pension scheme for DU teachers would be changed to a monthly scheme and money would be deducted from employees' salaries for payment towards a "general provident fund (GPF)" unless they opted for a "cumulative provident fund (CPF)", which is paid as a lump sum at the time of retirement.

UGC had allowed teachers five months -- between May and September 1987 -- to give their decision in writing. DU, however, granted several extensions to teachers to change their options.
The memorandum was adopted by DU upon approval from the Vice Chancellor, failing which they were "deemed to have come over to the Pension Scheme".
The high court, in a judgement this April, allowed the staffers to avail the benefits of GPF scheme even if they had not opted for it.

A single-judge bench of high court had divided the petitioners into three categories -- those who exercised the CPF option after the deadline, those who exercised it within the deadline and those who did not exercise the option at all.

DU had constituted a Task Force chaired by the treasurer on May 27, to ensure the implementation of the judgement. However, it recommended that the HC ruling be challenged.
"The University's unilateral decision to take the matter to court once again after the judgements can only be seen as a deliberate move to delay the payment of retirement dues to thousands of teachers, serving and retired. We, therefore, request your urgent intervention to stop the University from going ahead with the harmful decisions taken by the EC," the letter said.
Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh had last week clarified in an open letter to the varsity staff that the move is not deliberate and DU is bound to challenge the judgement following an official memorandum from the Department of Pensions& Pensioners Welfare.

"The Task Force and the EC deliberately misrepresented the High Court judgements in order to justify their decision to issue a three month notice to stop pension payments. This decision constitutes an inhuman attack on the livelihood of people in their old age," Narain alleged.