The Director General Accounts and Treasuries J& K Government under his recent circular dated 26.4.2012 states that Government Order 283-F of 2011 dated 13.12.2011 was made known to the pensioners in December 2011. It is unfounded. This order came to light only after the said officer issued his letter under No. DGAT/PS/DR/217 dated 24.3.2012 somewhere in April 2012.The circular of the said officer, stating that “despite lapse of 3 months small number of pensioners has come up for requisite verification” is absolutely false and misleading. The fact is that vide Government Order 283-F of 2011 dated 13.12.2011 read with Letter No. DGTA/PS/DR/217 dated 24.3.2012 of the Director General Accounts and Treasuries, circulated somewhere in April 2012, has asked its pensioners to undergo a cumbersome and humiliating exercise to prove that they are not dead but breathing individuals and that they draw pension emoluments as admissible under rules. They have been asked to present themselves before the Treasury Officers for an identification parade like hardened criminals, instead of asking them to provide a life certificate signed by a Gazetted Officer as has been the past practice. The pensioners have been doing so every year in May and November. The government had forced the pensioners to draw their pension emoluments from the branches of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank instead of the state treasuries in 2004. Now the government doubts its own Bank, which the JK State Information Commission under its recent ruling has declared as a Public Authority. The pensioners have been drawing pensions from the JK Bank Ltd since 2004, and the clauses of the Treasury Code referred to in the present notification after 8 years appears strange. The Finance Minister should allow the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd. to do the job to spare the aged and ailing senior citizens from this humiliating exercise.

Predhuman K Joseph Dhar
Journalist, Jammu

Lastupdate on : Thu, 3 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 3 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 4 May 2012 00:00:00 IST