Assam Government mandates accountability in pension disbursal with new penalty provision

The Assam government has introduced a penalty mechanism for officials responsible for undue delays in pension processing, aiming to ensure stricter adherence to timelines prescribed under existing pension rules and administrative procedures.

In a notification issued by the Administrative Reforms, Training, Pension and Public Grievances Department, the state government said penalties would be imposed on Heads of Offices (HOOs) where pension cases are found to have been delayed in violation of the standard operating procedures and timelines laid down in an Office Memorandum issued on June 23, 2003.

According to the notification, delayed pension cases will be identified every month through the Kritagyata portal. The list will be circulated to the concerned Heads of Offices, with copies forwarded to respective District Commissioners and senior-most secretaries of the departments concerned.

The government has fixed a financial recovery of Rs 250 per day for delays in pension processing, subject to a maximum penalty of Rs 5,000. The recovery will be made from the salaries of officials responsible at different stages of pension processing through the FinAssam portal and reflected as deductions in the following month’s salary bill.

The notification further stated that Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) will be responsible for ensuring that recoveries are carried out in accordance with the provisions and that details of such recoveries are furnished to the Administrative Reforms, Training, Pension and Public Grievances Department.

The order has come into immediate effect.

The notification also referred to the Office Memorandum issued in 2003, which laid down detailed procedures for timely pension settlement. The memorandum directed Heads of Offices to maintain superannuation registers containing details such as names of retiring employees, dates of birth, retirement dates and stages of pension processing.

Under the earlier guidelines, retiring employees are to be informed in writing about their retirement date and provided with the necessary forms two years before retirement. Departments are also required to scrutinise pension papers and forward them to the Accountant General or Director of Pension six months before retirement to ensure timely issuance of Pension Payment Orders (PPOs).

The 2003 memorandum had additionally warned that delays attributable to administrative lapses could make the government liable to pay interest, while departments would be required to fix responsibility and initiate disciplinary action against officials found responsible for delays.

The latest move is aimed at strengthening accountability within departments and ensuring faster disposal of pension cases across government offices in Assam.