Raipur, Chhattisgarh: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has warned the Central Government that he will take the amount of Rs 17,240 crores of the pension of the state employees stuck with them at any cost. He has said that the central government is doing this to stop the old pension scheme implemented for state employees. CM Baghel had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanding the return of this amount.
He said that the central government has said that they will not return the money, but the reason has not been given by them. Earlier, in a letter written to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister had said that the current market value of the state government’s contribution (employer and employee combined share) under the new pension scheme is Rs 17,240 crore.
This amount should be returned to the Government of Chhattisgarh soon. The state cabinet approved the decision to implement the old pension scheme in its meeting on May 1, 2022. Its notification has been published in the Gazette. The monthly contribution of the employer and the employee to the National Pension System (NPS) accounts of the employees has also been stopped from April 1, 2022.
The new pension scheme was implemented in the state from November 1, 2004, till March 31, 2022. During this period Rs 11 thousand 850 crores (employee and employer contribution) has been transferred to National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL). The current market value of this amount is approximately Rs 17 thousand 240 crores.
According to Finance Secretary Alarmel Mangai D, a new General Provident Fund (GPF) account has been opened by the state government for each employee registered with NPS. A minimum of 12 percent of the basic pay will be deducted from the salary of government employees, which will be deposited in the Chhattisgarh General Provident Fund accounts of government employees as per the General Provident Fund rules.
He informed that the current market value of the amount of government contribution made in NPS accounts will be used to meet future pension liabilities. Also, it will be kept in a separate pension fund under the public account of the state government. In addition, an amount equal to four percent of the pension liabilities of the previous financial year shall be invested by the State Government in this Pension Fund in each financial year.