BMC staffer gets retirement benefits after 13-yr absence

Jadhav was appointed in the BMC on August 16, 1975, as a temporary peon and began working with the ward office from December 26, 1977. After his sudden disappearance from September 2, 1984, he was considered missing on October 26, 1984. A First Information Report (FIR) was also lodged by Jadhav’s relatives with the Missing Persons’ Bureau, Mumbai police, on November 12, 1984.

According to the procedures and guidelines for settlement of Family Pension Claims and other retirement benefits in respect of absconding civic employees whose period of absence of seven years is not completed before July 5, 1991, the pension will be extended to the family after the completion of one year from the date of the FIR. The period of absence from date of missing to date of FIR is treated as Leave Without Pay (LWP) and the period of one year from the date of FIR as Absent Without Leave (AWL).

In case where the period of one year from the date of FIR is prior to July 5, 1991, the benefit of family pension is to be extended from July 5. According to a clause included in the November agenda of the General Body meetings, “The total period of absence of the absconding employee from his date of missing to July 5, 1991 is more than five years and therefore his services automatically stand terminated as per Rule 28 (C) of the Municipal Service Regulations (MSR).”

The administration has proposed to extend the benefit of pension to Jadhav’s family by relaxing the relevant provisions of the MSR and regularising his services by treating the period of absence from September 3, 1984 to October 25, 1984 as LWP and from October 26, 1994 to July 4, 1991, as AWL.

“As per the service rules of the BMC, if an FIR is lodged with the police that a civic employee is missing, and if he remains absconding or absent from duty for seven subsequent years, he is considered dead and his family is entitled for the pension and other retirement benefits,” said deputy municipal commissioner (personnel) Shrikant K Singh.

“In such cases, the relevant provisions of the service rules have to be relaxed to ensure that the immediate family of the employee is not deprived of their rights. The BMC can also consider employment for such an employee’s children,” Singh added.