“Forward ever, backward never: onwards with Breaking Through”

01/01/2015

31.12.2014
GRANT OF SAVING BANK ALLOWANCE TO POSTAL ASSISTANTS


30.12.2014
Declaration of assets by Public Servants under Lokpal: Removal of Difficulties Order Notification by DoPT

MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
(Department of Personnel and Training)
ORDER
New Delhi, the 26th December, 2014

S.O. 3272(E).- Whereas the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 62 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 (1 of 2014) (hereinafter referred to as the said Act), made the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2014 (hereinafter referred to as the said Order) with effect from the 15th February. 2014 for the purpose of carrying out modifications and amendments in all existing rules regulating the filing of property returns and making of declaration of assets by public servants so as to bring them in conformity with the provisions of the said Act. within a period not exceeding one hundred and eighty days from the date on which the provisions of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 came into force, i.e., the 16th January, 2014;


And whereas, the central Government initiated the process of modifications and amendments of all existing rules dealing with the subject matter of filing of annual returns and making of declaration of assets by public servants in consultation with various authorities, such as, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Election Commission, the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, the Ministry of Law and Justice (Department of Legal Affairs and Legislative Department), the Department of Financial Services, the Department of Public Enterprises and the State Governments;

And whereas, the comments and suggestions received from above said authorities had been under consideration of the Central Government and the completion of the procedure of finalising the rules under the said Act was likely to take some more time and the process of harmonisation of the existing rules with the provisions of the said Act and the rules made thereunder was taking time beyond the period notified under the said Order, and, therefore, the Central  Government amended the said Order on 14th July, 2014, extending the said period of one hundred and eighty days to a period of two hundred and seventy days;

And whereas, the Central Government, after consulting the Ministries/Departments. including the Department of Financial Services, the Department of Public Enterprises, the Ministry of Law and Justice and the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, made the Public Servants (Furnishing of Information and Annual Return of Assets and Liabilities and the Limits for Exemption of Assets in Filing Returns) Rules, 2014 (hereinafter referred to as the said rules), in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) read with clause (k) and clause (l) of sub-section (2) of section 59 read with section 44 and section 45 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, and notified the said rules on 14th July, 2014, prescribing therein the forms in which information and annual returns are to be filed by every public servant;

And whereas, the Central Government forwarded the Copies of the notification containing the said rules to all Ministries and Departments of the Central Government requesting them to take the follow-up action in terms of the said rules. and for ensuring compliance with the said rules by all officers and staff in the respective Ministries, Departments and organisations and public sector undertakings under their control;

And whereas. the Central Government also forwarded the copies of the notification containing the said rules to the Chief Secretaries of all State Governments and Union territories, requesting them to take the follow-up action in terms of the said rules requiring all officers of the All India Services working in connection with the affairs of the State Governments and the officers and staff working in various organisations and public sector undertakings under their control so as to ensure due compliance with the said rules by all of them;

And whereas, concerns and apprehensions were raised by some Ministries and Departments, Organisations and individuals about the posting of every information provided by the public servant on public domain and the complexities involved in posting such details in the prescribed formats and also about exacerbation of vulnerabilities of the public servants after filing such details. specifically of movable property and their publication on the websites of respective Ministries and Departments giving rise to the apprehension of the safety and security of the members particularly children of the public servant;

And whereas, keeping in view the genuine concerns and apprehensions aforesaid, the Central Government constituted a Committee on 28th August, 2014 to simplify the forms and the process in which public servants shall make declaration of assets and liabilities as required under the said Act and the rules made thereunder and the Committee was required to examine the forms prescribed under the said rules and suggest changes therein as may be considered necessary within a period of forty-five days;

And whereas, the exercise of reviewing the existing rules relating to various services and posts with the provisions of the said Act and the rules made thereunder, the process of completion of follow-up action by various Ministries and Departments of the Central Government and the State Governments and the exercise of simplification of forms and the process in which public servants shall make declarations of assets and liabilities, was likely to take time beyond the period of two hundred and seventy days as specified in the said Order (as amended by the Order, dated 14th July, 2014), it had become necessary to extend the said period of two hundred and seventy days and, accordingly, the Central Government amended the said Order on 8th September, 2014. extending the said period of two hundred and seventy days to a period of three hundred and sixty days for the purposes of section 44 of the said Act;

And whereas, the Committee constituted by the Central Government on 28th August, 2014 to simplify the farms and the process in which public servants shall make declaration of assets and liabilities as required under the said Act and the rules made thereunder, submitted its first Report to the Government on 1st October, 2014, wherein the Committee suggested simplification of form prescribed for submission of statement regarding movable assets and the form prescribed for submission of statement regarding debts and liabilities by public servants, under the aforesaid rules;

And whereas, the processing of necessary amendments to the aforesaid rules so as to incorporate the revised forms for filing statement regarding movable properties and the statement regarding debts and liabilities and the circulation of the revised formats, after their due notification in the Official Gazette, to all Ministries and Departments of the Central Government and the Chief Secretaries of all State Governments and Union territory administrations and the further process of follow-up action in terms of the said rules requiring all officers of the All India Services working in a connection with the affairs of the State Governments and the Offices and Staff working in various Organisations and Public Sector Undertakings under their control so as to ensure due compliance with the revised rules by all of them, is a time consuming process and as such the said process cannot be completed within the limit of three hundred and sixty days as contemplated in the principal order as amended by the order dated 8th September, 2014;

And whereas, Central Government has decided to amend the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, to address various deficiencies noticed in the said Act and, in that context, a need has also been felt to amend the provisions of section 44 of the said Act so as to harmonise the provisions of the said section with the relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and rules framed thereunder, the All India Services Act, 1951 and rules framed thereunder, the rules framed by the Central Government in pursuance of article 148 and article 309 of the Constitution and also various statutes setting up autonomous bodies and Public Sector Undertakings and the rules framed thereunder; 

And whereas, the introduction of a Bill to amend the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, and its passing by Parliament and enforcement is also likely to take time; and hence it has become necessary to extend the said period of three hundred and sixty days to a period of eighteen months and the Central Government has accordingly decided to extend the period to complete this process;

New. therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 62 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 (l of 2014). the Central Government hereby makes the following amendment further to amend the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2014, namely-

In the said Order, in paragraph 2, in sub-paragraph (1), for the words within a period not exceeding three hundred and sixty days, the words within a period not exceeding eighteen months shall be substituted.

[R No. 407/ 12/2014-AVD-1V(B) l]
JlSHNU BARUA, Jt. Secy.

Note : The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2014 was published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, vide notification number 8.0. 409(E), dated 15th February, 2014 and amended by Order, dated 14th July, 2014 published vide notification number 8.0. 1840(E) dated lSth July, 2014; and by Order dated 8th September. 2014 published vide notification number 8.0. 225605) dated 81h September, 2014.


Meeting with Sri. Ravi Shankar Prasadji,  Hon'ble Minister for Communications & IT


A delegation of FNPO leaders under the leadership of Sri. T V Chandramohan, Ex - MLA, Chairman FNPO Thrissur District Committee and Johnson Avokkaran, met the Hon'ble Minister at Guruvayur and submitted a memorandum regarding Circle Level and local Issues. The minister was  kind enough to have a fruitful discussion.
 
Demands consisted:

1)Protection of TRCA of GDS.
2)Filling up of vacant posts in all cadres including that of CPMG and DPS NR.
3)To effect relaxation recruitments in all cadres in the Circle without delay.
4)To keep in abeyance the hasty decision of the Circle administration to set up Post Shoppies in the Circle.
5)Allot funds for building Kunnamkulam HO Building.
6)Allot funds for repairs of Staff quarters at Poothole, Thrissur Division.

The delegation consisted V K Mohanan(D/S NUGDS) and C J Wilson(Divisional Vice president, P4). Minister agreed to do all possible help on the demands.

29/12/2014

Clarification regarding issue of medicines under CGHS 
No. 2-2/2014/CGHS(HQ)/PPTY / CGHS(P)
Government of India
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
Department of Health & Family Welfare
Nirman Bhawan, Maulana Azad Road
New Delhi 110 108
Dated: the 23rd December, 2014
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Subject: Clarification regarding issue of medicines under CGHS
With reference to the above mentioned subject the undersigned is directed to state that the situation arising out of issue of Office Memorandum No 2/2014/CGHS(HQ)/PPTY / CGHS(P) dated the 25th August ,2014 has been engaging the attention of Government for quite some time. Various representations about the difficulties being encountered have been received from different stakeholders i.e., beneficiaries and doctors, necessitating a review of the matter. It was accordingly considered by a Committee under the Chairmanship of AS&DG,CGHS. After careful review and keeping the recommendations of the Committee in mind, the following guidelines are issued to streamline the functioning of the Wellness Centres:
i. The medicines are to be issued as per the CGHS Formulary and guidelines issued by this Ministry in this behalf.
ii. In case the prescribed medicines are not available in CGHS formulary, but are essential for the treatment of the patient, they can be issued / indented by the doctors of the CGHS Wellness Centre on the basis of a valid prescription of the authorized specialist subject to the condition that such medicines are neither dietary supplements/ food items nor banned drugs. Instructions on this issue i.e., non-admissibility of food items etc. issued vide O.M .No. 39-3/2003-04/CGHS/MSD/RS dated 23rd July 2009 and 3rd August 2009 must be followed.
iii. In case of anti-cancer drugs and other life-saving drugs that are not approved by the DCG1 for use in India, each case should be considered by the Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of Special DG(DGHS).
iv. The technical Standing Committee constituted vide 2-2/2014/CGHS(HQ)/PPTY / CGHS(P) dated 27.08.2014 of this Ministry will review addition or deletion of drugs in the CGHS Formulary/ list of Treatment procedures / investigations / listed implants. The Technical Committee will meet once in three months or as per need, whichever is earlier. In the meantime reimbursement for unlisted procedures / implants will be made at the rates approved by AIIMS/GB Pant Hospital / actuals, whichever is less.
2. The O.M. of even number dated 25.08.2014 is superseded to the above extent while O.M. of even number dated 1.10.2014 is withdrawn.
Sd/-
(Bindu Tiwari)
Director, CGHS(P)
(Tel 2306 1831)
Change in date of birth/age of family pensioners for payment of additional pension
No. 1(11)/2009-D (Pen/Pol)
Government of India
Ministry of Defence
Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare
New Delhi 110011
Dated : 23rd December 2014
To
The Chief of the Army Staff
The Chief of the Naval Staff
The Chief of the Air Staff
Subject : Change in date of birth/age of family pensioners for payment of additional pension.
Sir,
In accordance with the instructions issued vide GOI, MOD letter no. 17(4)/2008(1)-D (Pen/Policy) dated 11.11.2008 and GOI, MOD letter No. 1(11)/2009-D (Pen/Policy) dated 18th Aug 2009, additional pension/ family pension is allowed on the basis of the date of birth/age recorded in the Pension Payment Order/Discharge Certificate or other office records. Only in cases where the details regarding date of birth/age are not available in the PPO/Discharge Certificate or Office records, additional pension/family pension to old pensioners/family pensioners has been allowed on the basis of following documents
a) PAN Card
b) Matriculation Certificate (containing information regarding date of birth)
c) Passport
d) ECHS Card
e) Driving License (if it contains date of birth)
f) Election ID Card
2. Some representations have been received in the MOD regarding the hardship being caused to old family pensioners in getting the additional pension on account of incorrect recording of the date of birth/age in the PPO. They have been requesting for allowing the change of date of birth in the PPO on the basis of the documents prescribed in Para 1 above. The matter has been examined in the Ministry and (after issue of Deptt. Of P & PW OM No. 1/23/2012 P&PW (E) dated 13.09.2012) following decisions have been taken :-
(i) Since the date of birth/age of the armed forces personnel is recorded in the PPO on the basis of service records and the date of discharge/retirement/superannuation etc is determined on the basis of this date of birth/age there would be no question of allowing change in the date of birth/age of the retired/deceased pensioner in the PPO. The matter has been examined further. Considering the difficulty in producing any of the above mentioned documents as proof of age by the old pensioners. It has now been decided that the Aadhaar Card issued by UIDAI may also be accepted as proof of date of birth/age for payment of additional pension/family pension on completion of 80 years of age or above.
(ii) The request for change of date of birth/age of the family pensioner (Parents and Spouse) in the PPO may be submitted by the armed forces pensioner/family pensioner, to the concerned Record Office in case of JCO/Ors and, service HQrs in case of Commissioned Officers along with at least one of the documents mentioned in Para I above/Aadhaar Card and declaration on a non-judicial stamp paper regarding the correct date of birth of the family pensioner. If the Head of the Department/Record Office is satisfied then the change in the date of birth of the family pensioner may be allowed provided a bona-fide mistake has been made in recording the date of birth in the PPO. As the entry in the PPO needs to be rectified, it would be carried out by PSA by issuing the Corr PPO on the advice of OIC Records/Head of Office.
(iii) No other document except as indicated in Para 1 above and Aadhaar Card issued by UIDAI will be accepted for change in date of birth/age of the family pensioner in the PPO.
3. In order to avoid any possibility of recording an incorrect date of birth in the PPO, in future the Armed Forces Personnel would be required to submit one of the documents indicated / in Para 1 above or Aadhaar Card issued by UIDAI as proof of date of birth of spouse or parents along with the details of family as indicated in service records of service officer / personnel. In the case of children, certificate of birth from the Municipal authorities or from the local Panchayat or from the head of a recognized school if he/she is studying in such a school or from a Board of Education may be accepted as proof of age.
4. This issues with the concurrence of Ministry of Defence (Finance) vide their ID No. 31(7)/09/FIN/PEN dated 21/11/2014.

Yours faithfully,
(Prem Prakash)
Under Secretary to the Government of India