This is an archive article published on May 28, 2023

NITI Aayog meet: Sukhvinder Sukhu asks Centre to refund 9,242.60 cr in NPS; wants 100% funding for rail line

The demand assumes significance as days after coming to power in state, the Congress government in its first cabinet meeting in January had approved restoration of the Old Pension Scheme.

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu

Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu. (Express photo)

4 min readShimlaMay 28, 2023 08:10 AM IST First published on: May 28, 2023 at 08:10 AM IST

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday urged the Centre to issue directions to the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority to return Rs 9,242.60 crore deposited in the New Pension Scheme (NPS) by the state government.
The chief minister made the request during the eighth meeting of the governing council of NITI Aayog held here under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The demand assumes significance as days after coming to power in state, the Congress government in its first cabinet meeting in January had approved restoration of the Old Pension Scheme. He had reiterated that the state government has not restored OPS for votes but for giving social security and safeguarding self respect of the employees. The matter has been studied in depth and in spite of some reservations by finance officers, the issue has been settled and all the employees under the NPS will be covered under OPS, he had added.
In a Cabinet meeting in March, the state government announced that the OPS will be implemented from April 1 this year. It said that more than 1.36 lakh serving government employees will be directly benefited by the decision that will entail an additional financial liability of Rs 1,000 cr during 2023-24 fiscal.

“Restoring OPS was one of the 10 guarantees given by Congress in the elections,” Sukhu had then said.

State’s revenue minister Jagat Singh Negi had said that the OPS will be fully implemented and the contribution of the NPS will stop being deducted. “The new thing is that Himachal has made its own model to restore the old pension,” Negi had said, adding that while all employees appointed after 2003 have been brought under the ambit of the OPS, they will be given the option to choose between the OPS and NPS – making it a flexible scheme.

Prior to Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh governments – both Congress-ruled states – and Punjab had restored the OPS for its employees even as the Centre had made it clear in the Parliament that contributions made towards NPS by the employees or state governments can’t be returned to the state.

Meanwhile, Sukhu also called for removing the limit of receiving external aid for the next three years in the state and sought the intervention of the Centre for speedy approval of proposals submitted to the Department of Economic Affairs, according to a statement issued by the state government.

He asked the Centre for 100 per cent central funding for the strategic Bhanupali-Bilaspur-Leh railway line and considering the land acquisition cost as state’s contribution.

During the meeting, the Himachal CM also requested for including ropeway projects under ‘Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojna’, besides demanding special financial assistance for completing the construction of medical colleges in the state.

He asked the central government for providing the option of CAPEX (capital expenditure) model along with OPEX (operational expenditure) model under the financial assistance provided by the Centre for purchasing e-buses.

Apprising about the vision and initiatives of the state government, the chief minister said that his government was keen on developing Himachal Pradesh as the “Green Energy State” and added that tourism development was being undertaken under the concept of “Green Himachal” in order to protect and preserve the environment, the statement said.

Sukhu sought the support of the Centre and NITI Aayog for fulfilling the dream of the government for making Himachal Pradesh the most developed and prosperous state of the country.