ChandigarhOne hour ago
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The One MLA One Pension Scheme of the AAP government of Punjab has been challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Former MLA from Ludhiana Rakesh Pandey and others filed a petition in the High Court, on which the court has given notice to the Punjab government and sought its response.
In the petition filed in the High Court, the petitioners said that till now in other states including Haryana-Himachal and Punjab also they have been getting pension under the old pension scheme. In Punjab, the AAP government should not impose One MLA-One Pension Scheme on them, as they have been getting pension in the old method since years. On the basis of which pension many former MLAs have taken loans and their installments are also deducted. They also file all income tax returns.
The petitioners said that the governments in Punjab till now have given them TA and DA accordingly. If the present Mann Government of Punjab wants to bring One MLA-One Pension Scheme, then it should be implemented on the people who become MLAs after enactment of law. It should not be applied to old MLAs.
It is worth mentioning that under the One MLA One Pension Scheme, any MLA in the state will get only one pension, no matter how many times he has been an MLA. Earlier, the number of times a public representative became an MLA, he used to get a pension for the same term. There are many such MLAs in Punjab who were MLAs many times and were getting pension for the same term.
This had a huge impact on the government exchequer. After the formation of the AAP government, it was closed and the scheme of one pension for all the MLAs was brought. The Punjab government had earlier brought a proposal in the cabinet regarding the pension scheme, but by law it was required to be passed in the assembly.
The resolution was brought in the assembly in June
The Punjab government had brought a resolution in the assembly in the month of June, which was passed. Then it was sent to the Governor for approval to give it a legal form. After approval, its notification was issued on August 11. Since then, MLAs in Punjab are getting pension for only one term. According to the Punjab government, the implementation of One Legislator-One Pension will reduce the burden of Rs 19 crore per year on the state government’s treasury.