Assembly passes Right to Services Act

               The Kerala Assembly Wednesday passed the Right to Services Act guarantee time bound delivery of services for various public services rendered by the Government to citizen amid ruckus by opposition benches.
             The Act provides mechanism for punishing the errant public servant who is deficient in providing the service stipulated under the statute and is meant to reduce corruption among the government officials and to increase transparency and public accountability.
           Madhya Pradesh was the first state in India to enact Right to Service Act.
           The Act envisages a fine up to Rs 5,000 on government officials in case of default. Initially, 13 government services and nine services related to the police department will be under the purview of the legislation.

The following coming under Right to Service Act

             1. Birth Certificate

             2. Cast Certificate

             3. Income Certificate

             4. Location Certificate

             5. Death Certificate

             6. Electricity connection to houses and shops

             7. Water connection to houses and shops

             8. Ration Card

             9. Time-bound Passport verifcation

             10. Time-bound employment verification

POLICE SERVICES

             ■ Receipt of complaint filed in the police station
             ■ FIR copy
             ■ Prompt police action in serious criminal cases
             ■ Permission for demonstrations and use of loud speakers
             ■ Licence for weapons and explosives
             ■ Police clearance report certificate
             ■ Copy of post-mortem
             ■ Receipt of lost and found items
             ■ Release of vehicles in custody
             ■ Compensation claims of SC/ST persons

Onam gift! State staff to retire at 58

 Deccan Chronicle : Kochi- 24-07-2012

                      The state government, even while claiming that it had not seriously considered the option, is all set to increase the pension age of Government employees to 58 on July 25, the last day of the current Assembly session. Along with the pension age hike, the Government is planning to introduce the contributory pension scheme for new recruits.

                      The plan is to get the decisions ratified by the Cabinet on August 8. It was four months ago that the pension age was upped from 55 to 56. This session, the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, and the Finance Minister, K. M.Mani, dropped enough hints that the Government would go ahead with both a hike in pension age and the contributory pension scheme. “Every year, Rs.7,731 crore goes to pensions and this situation cannot go on for long,” Chandy had said.

                      Between 17,000 and 20,000 Government employees and teachers are expected to retire in the course of the year.If they are given another two years, the cashstrapped state government would save around Rs 375 crore this fiscal.

                      An employee is entitled to provident fund, gratuity and terminal surrender benefits within three months of retirement. Equally controversial will be the move to introduce contributory pension, though it is restricted to new recruits. The employee’s contribution to the fund will be matched or even bettered by the State Government’s share. However, employees’ organizations are worried that employees will have to bear risks associated with investing money in the contributory pension fund. The contributory pension fund, to be set up on the lines of the National Pension Scheme, will be invested in stocks.

Download Front Page of Deccan Chronicle 24-07-2012

Kerala Water Authority-Pension and related benefits-Revised

Government have revised the pension and other related benefits in respect of employees of Kerala Water Authority.For details view

 GO(P)No.368/2012/Fin Dated 03/07/2012 

 Main Recommendations

• Pension revision with effect from 01/07/2009
• Minimum basic pension : 4,500/- Maximum 29,920/- 
• Revision of Pension who retired/Expired prior to 01/07/2009 : Existing Basic+12% fitment+64% of Existing Basic 
• DCRG ceiling will be raised from Rs.3,30,000/- to Rs.7,00,000/-

• Dearness Relief

                  Date                       Rate of  DR                     Total

                  01/07/2009                0%                                0%

                  01/01/2010                08%                              08%

                  01/07/2010                10%                               18%  

                  01/01/2011                06%                               24% 

                  01/07/2011                07%                               31%

                  01/01/2012                07%                               38%      

• Medical Allowance @ 300/- per month from 01/02/2011
• Arrears on account of revision shall be disbursed in cash