Submit retired employees’ benefits details: HC to finance dept

Hyderabad: Taking a stern view of the delay in disbursing retirement benefits to former employees, the Telangana high court on Wednesday directed the state finance department to furnish complete details of all retired govt staff who are still awaiting their post-retirement benefits, along with the token numbers issued for payment clearance, within two weeks.

Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao issued the direction after noting that the department had failed to honour an earlier undertaking to the court that all pending retirement benefits would be cleared. The judge was hearing more than 750 writ petitions and contempt cases related to the issue.

During the proceedings, Justice Rao questioned why the principal secretary of the finance department had not ensured compliance with the assurance given to the court regarding the settlement of retirement dues.

Observing that many retired employees continue to face hardship because of the delay, the court directed the authorities to place on record all relevant details, including the status of payments and token allotments. The matter was adjourned for further hearing.