Final chance for Maharashtra government to reply to BUCTU

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has given the state government two weeks’ time "by way of last indulgence" to reply to a contempt petition filed by Bombay University College and University Teachers Union (BUCTU) against the government’s arbitrary decision to pay pension and gratuity to retired teachers from 2009 and not 2006 as stipulated by the sixth pay commission.

A member of BUCTU said that as per sixth pay commission recommendations, teaching staff having completed 20 years of service and retiring after January 1, 2006, would get pension as per revised calculations. Similarly, gratuity would also be paid at the revised rate of Rs 7 lakh to those retiring after January 1, 2006.

However, the state government acted arbitrarily, and implemented the recommended pension scheme for those retiring after February 2009 and paid the stipulated gratuity amount from August 2009.

The petition said that the state, department of higher education, and University Grants Commission (UGC) were in contempt of the sixth pay commission recommendations and had paid scant regard to various court decisions upholding these recommendations.

A BUCTU official said, “The state approached the Supreme Court and filed a review petition, special leave petition, and curative petition, challenging the decision of Bombay high court directing it to pay all teachers who had retired after January 1, 2006 as per sixth pay commission recommendations. However, the apex court refused to interfere in the matter and rejected all petitions. The state had given an undertaking in 2015 that it would abide by court orders. But as nothing came of it after a year, BUCTU filed the contempt petition in 2016.”

The bench was miffed by the respondents’ callous and unsympathetic approach, and gave them a final opportunity to file their reply.