SRINAGAR: The Finance Department of Jammu and Kashmir has tightened rules on pension fixation for work supervisors after finding that several departments granted one-time pay-scale upgradations under earlier service rules beyond permitted dates. Pension benefits arising from SRO-59 of February 06, 1990, and SRO-149 of April 07, 1973, will be processed only where the upgradation was found to be lawful; pension cases must be forwarded to the Accountant General with certification by the drawing and disbursing officer, the department told the Legislative Assembly.
The clarification follows a review that found some departments — including public works and water supply agencies — allowed dual or extended benefits contrary to later rules and official orders. The Finance Department said benefits granted under Appendix 2-A inserted by SRO-59 and amended by SRO-393 were not permitted to be combined with advantages under the Higher Standard Pay Scale Scheme notified by SRO-14 on January 15, 1996. A subsequent order, SRO-231 of July 15, 2003, deleted Appendix 2-A with retrospective effect to January 15, 1996, but some departments continued to apply SRO-59 beyond that date in contravention of SRO-231.
Officials told legislators that an earlier unified clarification had already warned against granting overlapping benefits. The Finance Department has now issued further that pension fixation shall be permitted where the one-time upgradation under SRO-59 was properly granted and all conditions complied with; in such cases, pension files must carry the DDO’s certification before submission to the Accountant General.
The department also flagged misuse of SRO-149 provisions. SRO-149 (April 07, 1973) classified certain technical and semi-skilled posts into higher pay scales, but it was superseded by SRO-91 dated March 22, 1982. Finance officials noted that some appointments made after the 1982 rules were nonetheless granted SRO-149 benefits. The department said that each new pay rule is self-contained and supersedes earlier rules, except where expressly protected.
The legal dimension remains live. SRO-149 is currently sub judice before the Supreme Court of India. The Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has issued Circular No. 01-JK(LD)2019 dated November 26, 2019, directing strict adherence to the Supreme Court’s order of January 31, 2019. The Finance Department said no orders should conflict with that judgment.
Labour and works supervisors’ associations have litigated these issues in the past. The reply to the assembly notes that aggrieved associations — including all Jammu and Kashmir works supervisors and road supervisors — filed writ petitions in the High Court, prompting repeated departmental reviews and the sequence of clarifications now on the record.
Officials warned that pension fixation for former employees who received pay upgrades will face closer scrutiny and, where benefits are found to have been granted in breach of rules or without requisite approvals, pensions may be recalculated or delayed until conformity with instructions is certified. Departments that allowed benefits beyond the withdrawal of SRO-59 on January 15, 1996, were described in the reply as acting “in contravention” of SRO-231.
The Finance Department set out a compliance path: validate past grantings against the rules; obtain DDO certification where grants are lawful; forward pension cases to the Accountant General with supporting documentation. Where SRO-149 issues remain before the courts, departments were told to follow the Supreme Court’s directions.
