Southern States - Karnataka   

Govt. notifies special VRS for employees

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE Sept. 2. The Government has issued an order notifying a Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for regular government employees who are identified as surplus due to restructuring of Ministries and departments.

The order, issued on Monday, states that the scheme will be applicable to regular government servants who have completed a minimum 20 years of qualifying service, or attained the age of 45. The scheme will not be applicable for government employees who have completed 55 years.

It says that the Government is "pleased to introduce a Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme" on an experimental basis for six months from the date of issue of the order.

Under the scheme, an employee who opts for the scheme will be entitled to receive ex gratia payment equal to 45 days of existing basic pay plus dearness allowance for each completed year of service rendered, and 25 days of existing basic pay plus dearness allowance for each remaining year of service. For any fraction of a year of service rendered/remaining, the ex gratia will be worked out pro-rata.

The amount will be subject to other conditions including the number of years to be counted for payment of ex gratia, which will not exceed 33 years; weightage will not be given for additional service for calculating ex gratia; the ex gratia will be subject to a minimum of Rs. 25,000 or 250 days' emoluments, whichever is higher; persons re-employed in government service after retirement; and persons whose conditions of service are regulated by the rules made under clause (3) of Article 187, clause (2) of Article 229 or sub-clause (b) of Article 318 of the Constitution, the order says.

The employees of Education, Police, Health and Family Welfare departments, where posts are essential, and posts are being regularly filled, are excluded from the purview of the scheme, the order says. The scheme will be offered to only employees where surplus posts are to be identified, and will be limited to the number of surplus posts identified. In cases where identification of surplus posts has not been done, the administrative departments should take steps for identification of posts as surplus and redundant. The process should be completed within three months. If the organisation or department is to be closed in toto, the posts have to be announced as surplus, the order says.

If the number of employees opting for the scheme is more than the number of surplus posts, the junior-most employees should be given preference. Once the scheme is accepted, and the employee is relieved from duty, the post held by him will be automatically abolished, the order says.

However, the option of accepting or rejecting the scheme is with the Government, and employees cannot claim it as a matter of right. Government employees facing inquiries or judicial proceedings are not entitled to the scheme. The ex gratia will be a one-time payment, the order says. A government servant retired under the scheme will not be eligible for re-employment in any capacity in the government.

The objective of the order is to "right-size the staff strength".

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