While majority of employee associations in Himachal Pradesh are demanding financial benefits to be extended on the lines of Punjab but Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is against implementing Punjab pay policy in his state.
While presiding over the silver jubilee convention of State Pensioners Welfare Association at Hamirpur he said that “the state government follows its own policies and schemes and it was not necessary that on demand of few employees associations and bodies, it follows the pattern of Punjab. The state government is already giving many benefits to its employees and the state is already following the pattern of Punjab pay commission”.
“People of our state must understand that we are a separate state and cannot get the pattern of any other state in every communiqué of the state government. However whatever financial benefits the committees or few sub committees constituted in Punjab government announces, Himachal is not bound to extend those benefits. The government is considerate to all the genuine demands of the pensioners and is already assuring 5%, 10% and 15% pension allowance to all its pensioners aged between 65 to 70 years, 70 to 75 years and 75 to 80 years respectively from April 1st,2014” Virbhadra Singh concluded.
