STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: The officers, employees and retirees of NABARD are on agitation for nearly one and a half years now under banner of UFOERN (United Forum of Officers, Employees and Retirees of NABARD). Now, they have decided to intensify the agitation with gate demonstrations, wearing black badges, sitting on Dharna and finally a full-day strike to highlight their long pending pension related issues. It was stated by Raj Kumar Mogha, President UFOERN, in a press statement issued here on Saturday.
He further said that established by an Act of Parliament in 1981, NABARD was carved out of Reserve Bank of India by replacing three of its departments – Agricultural Credit Department (ACD), Rural Planning and Credit Department (RPCD) and Agricultural Refinance and Development Department (ARDC) – to give undivided focus to agriculture and rural development.
Mogha said that Pension Regulations of NABARD were framed in 1993 on the same lines as that of RBI. However, the revisions made over last eight years in the Pension Regulations of RBI with approval of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, Government of India are yet to be approved by DFS for NABARD, thereby creating a disparity among employees who had opted for NABARD and who stayed back in RBI. In short, the promises have not been kept and the provisions in NABARD Act have not been respected, causing unrest among employees – both serving and retired.
“Staff members of NABARD – both serving and retired – are on agitation under banner of the United Forum of Officers, Employees and Retirees of NABARD (UFOERN) since September 2019. After a break in the agitation owing to COVID 19, the employees of NABARD have once again come on roads to protest for inordinate delay in settling their rightful dues. The United Forum jointly as well as its constituent bodies separately have met several Members of Parliament, Ministers including the Finance Minister, the Minister of State for Finance and officials of DFS requesting for an early settlement of the issues, but all pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” he maintained.
