LARKANA: How sad it is to learn that retired government servants have to pay huge amounts as bribes for preparation of their pension papers as the account section clerks of their respective departments refuse to prepare their documents on the pretext of having no previous experience of preparing such retirement papers. This has become a menace in education and health departments apart from others and the aged employees continue to suffer for negligence of others.
In this connection when this scribe contacted retired doctors of BS-19 and 20 on Tuesday, they narrated the woes they have faced and confirmed that their pension papers were prepared by private persons who even charged them massively as their department’s clerks refused to prepare documents.
Dr. Hafiz Gulab Morio, retired from Chandka Medical College Hospital on 12th January 2019 said that he paid Rs 80,000 for the papers which also include issuance of notifications from health department and other required certificates. He said he even paid for issuance of Leave Preparatory to Retirement (LPR) notification. Dr. Irshad Morio who retired on 11th April 2020 said that he paid huge amounts for preparing retirement papers and he was also charged for clearing of his bills at the District Accounts Office (DAO), Larkana.
Dr. Maula Bux Shaikh, retired in BPS-20 on 24th September and Dr. Nazir Ahmed Talpur also retired in BPS-20 narrated the same story that they paid illegal gratification at DAO office to get their pension bills passed and another amount for preparation of pension papers and same was the story of Dr. Rahim Bux Baloch who retired in BPS-19. It was reliably learnt that pension papers of Dr. Manzoor Soomro are still pending clearance at DAO Larkana since the past one year.
Worst situation prevails in the education department where male and specially female teachers (their names have been kept secret for fear of serious repercussions) are looted by their department clerks with both hands. All the retired teachers have to run from pillar to post to get retirement notifications, required certificates apart from getting their pension papers prepared and passed from the DAO where they are barbarically treated as second class ex-government servants who carry no importance and influence.
Instead of giving them proper respect being teachers, they are not only misguided but also maltreated. Corruption has taken roots everywhere hence a retired teacher of BPS-19 (time scale) has to pay each approximately Rs one lac for preparation of their retirement papers and clearance at DAO office or else their cases will never be passed and they will continue to be denied payment of their own life’s savings.
Corruption has ruined the society but delaying payment to retired government servants on any pretext cannot be justified and is an abuse of powers against which the government will have to take fool proof actions forthwith.
These doctors and teachers said that when everything including the entire service record, monthly salaries, GP fund deductions and so forth is online and computerized then why are bills sought? Why are pension and retirement benefits not paid directly and immediately on retirement day? They said AG Sindh had recently claimed that payments will be made on the retirement day but his assertions are yet to be implemented and they continue to suffer for no fault of theirs at all, they added. They urged the rulers to establish merit, good governance in the province and get rid of the corrupted practices in government departments without loss of further time for which ruthless repression is urgently needed in the interest of the public.