THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the discussion held by Ministers Antony Raju and VN Vasavan, it was decided that the pension and arrears of the retired KSRTC employees will be paid immediately. Kerala Kaumudi had published a news on March 30 revealing that the senior citizens were in misery after the suspension of pension. The ministers held an urgent meeting after noticing the news which included the suicide of two pensioners.
The pension is distributed through loans provided by cooperative banks. However, the cooperative department's demand that an interest of 9% is needed instead of 8.5% was what caused the crisis. Minister Antony Raju made it clear in the discussion that there is no justification for this demand and an agreement was reached between the two departments earlier that the pension would be distributed at an interest of 8.5% till June. The decision was finalized when Minister VN Vasavan was also convinced about this.
The pension in March was delayed due to the incompetence of officials from the Cooperative and Finance Departments. As per the assurance of the government, 65 crores per month is provided by the Cooperative Department for pension. This amount will be reimbursed from the budget allocation for KSRTC.
"The LDF government has taken a positive decision for the pensioners. Care will be given to avoid delays in the future.
-Anthony Raju,
Transport Minister