In the misty
weather of autumn rain, when most people of
their age prefer to remain indoors, when
most people on the road where scuttling back
home, when there was an intense bustle of
traffic near the Keishampat crossing,
flanked to the left side of the road it is
the wayside of Wahengbam Leikai-Nagamapal
road, two makeshift tents are arranged
temporarily. Under these two tents, two
Wakat Meephams are being staged. One Wakat
Meephams is for the payment of dearness rate
(DR) to the pensioners and the other is for
the regularization of Adhoc employees
through special DPC.
The word 'bandh' has been changed to
'general strike'. The word 'Dharna' and 'sit
in protest' have also been changed to 'Wakhat
Meepham'? The vocabulary of the Manipuri
word is thus richer by these new terms. But
still there is no change in the attitude of
the Government at least to have a patient
hearing of what is the rationale behind
these Wakhat Meephams.
It is a pathetic as well as a horrible sight
to see those people who have once shared
their knowledge, experience and might in the
governance of the State by holding different
posts in different departments in such a
predicament.
Many who have gathered there and
participated in the protest have already put
one foot into their grave. Some have with
their hearing aids, some with loose
spectacles on their pouch just above the
nose are sitting with grim faces. They all
have retired from their respective service
on reaching their superannuation and are
ready to have the beginning of the end of
their life by adopting other means and ways
to spend their time.
It may be due to our 'infirmity of flesh' or
wayward disposition of our mind that we
often forget that we are going from our
cradle to our grave with uniform velocity of
time that is; 60 seconds makes 1 minutes, 60
minutes 1 hours, 24 hours a day, 365 days a
year and so on. There will be sure a point
of time when our body and soul will have to
separate and mingled again to different
forms of energy which what the Hindus called
'Panchabhut'.
The days of the pensioners are the days
which require solace, peace of mind and
rest. This is the time when one becomes
infirm and needs some help at hand for
emotional and physical support. It is true
to the core that the pensioners in Manipur
face a lot of hardships. First, in our State
when an employee retires it takes more than
one or two years to get the retirement
benefits such as GPF final withdrawal, leave
encashments etc. When his/her monthly salary
at this period of time has been stopped,
most employees have nearly gone mad. When,
at last his/her benefits are cleared and
becomes a pensioners, then there begins a
long endless fight against all odds.
He/she have to shuttle between the treasury
office and bank. When the treasury office
has done the clearance he/she has to stand
in the long queue in front of the bank
whether there is scorching sun or torrential
rain in the sky. 'Go to hell; but don't
become a pensioner in Manipur' these words
changed lips among the pensioners of Manipur
today.
Now coming to the point which I have raised
in the beginning, I would like to remind
that all the civilized nations respect those
who were once a part of the Government
machinery. The Central Government avails
Dearness Rate (DR) to the pensioners and
this rate is increased from time to time
according to the price index.
The existing DA/DR rate of the Central
Government employees now stands at 67% of
the basic pay. 50% of the DR/DA has already
been added to the basic pay of the
employees. Neighboring States like Nagaland,
Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Assam and
Tripura have adopted the Central Government
DA/DR rate to their employees. But in
contrast, in Manipur, the State Cabinet has
decided to forfeit the additional dose of
DA/DR of 12% of its employees and pensioners
while additional 14% of DA/DR will be frozen
to the GPF account of the respective
employees and for the pensioner it will be
given in installments upto 2008 (vide order
no 9/92/99-FD (PIC) dt. 7/9/05).
This writer has got the opportunity of an
informal talk with an official of Finance
Department. We talked on this point and in
his view the financial position in Manipur
is not as bad as it is projected. He evaded
my further questions by saying that it was
the decision of the Govt. what to do or what
not to do.
Again, there are plan fund which is to be
utilized during this current fiscal year and
now the Government has the apprehension that
the fund will be return to the Centre as it
cannot utilize during the targeted period.
The expenditure for plan heads cannot be
used in Non-Plan Expenditures. But the point
here is, this system of financial management
has led to the conclusion that the SPF
Government is not conscious where it is
ought to be conscious and conscious where it
is not to be conscious.
The clear
example of this is seen in the last Assembly
session. All the MLAs, Ministers had
unanimously resolved to increase the pay and
allowances of MLAs and Ministers. The hell
will not let loose on them if the Government
allow to draw the 14 per cent DR at one go
for the pensioners. Some pensioner may go to
their grave waiting for the last installment
of 2008, who knows.
Old age faces
a lot of question about the uncertainly of
life. Old age accompanies alienations,
loneliness, and sense of insecurity. The
biggest fear of old age is social security
and lack of support. It echoes everywhere.
The Government has to develop and promote a
policy framework in which there is an
individual and collective responsibility to
recognize the past and present contributions
of older people. |
