The Meghalaya High Court has directed the State government and the State Bank of India to finalise the agreement for operating a Centralised Provident Fund account for aided college teachers in the State by November 30.
The High Court also ordered the government to notify an appropriate scheme in the official gazette of the government by December 15 covering employees who joined prior to April 1, 2010. It also said that the implementation of the new pension scheme covering employees, who joined after April 1, 2010 should continue.
During hearing of the writ petition filed by Meghalaya College Teachers’ Association (MCTA) today, the division bench of Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh observed from the letter of the Education Department dated October 23, 2024 to Advocate General Amit Kumar that a Centralised Provident Fund account would be operated for those employees who joined service prior to April 1, 2010.
In its letter dated September 30, 2024, the government had instructed all employees of schools and colleges under the deficit grant-in-aid scheme to transfer the amount accumulated in the present contributory provident fund to the centralised provident fund account known as ‘Meghalaya Non-Government School and College Central Pension and Provident Fund’ with the State Bank of India for those employees who joined service prior to April 1, 2010.
However, in paragraph 2 of the communication, it was stated that the State government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Bank of India on October 22, 2024 for introducing a new pension scheme to those employees who had joined service on or after April 1, 2010 and that the implementation of the new pension scheme was under way.
During today’s hearing, MCTA lawyer R Mazumdar told the High Court that the scope of the writ petition covers employees, who had joined prior to April 1, 2010 and also those who had joined thereafter. He also said that MCTA had no grievance against the implementation of the new pension scheme for employees who had joined after October 1, 2024.
With regard to those employees who had joined prior to October 1, 2010, Mazumdar requested the High Court to issue orders and directions to compel the government to act in terms of the averments made in its affidavit that there would be transfer of accumulated funds to State Bank of India and then its application according to a scheme, the detailed terms and conditions of which would be embodied in the Memorandum of Understanding, which should be similar to that covering the post April 1, 2010 employees.
Additional Advocate General K Khan stated that the State government was not opposed to applying the scheme to pre-April 1, 2010 employees.
The court listed the matter for hearing on December 17 for receiving an action taken report from the State government.
