Government rules do not permit officials to have the cake and eat it too.

 

Vikas Pathak , April 15, 2012

Government overpays Earth sciences secretary

It has been too good to be true. Now, it is time for a reality bite. An internal audit has indicted book-keepers at the Department of Earth Sciences for over-paying its secretary, Dr Shailesh Nayak, and advised them to start making deductions from his future salary. A retired scientist from the Space Applications Centre at Ahmedabad, Nayak was appointed Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, in August 2008 and had been drawing his full salary as well as pension for services as space scientist.
But government rules do not permit officials to have the cake and eat it too.
According to reemployment rules for government servants, the payroll department should have deducted the amount of the pension from his salary at the earth sciences department.
When contacted about the report, Nayak told HT, “The administration will do what is required.”
The anomaly was detected when his contribution towards the New Pension Scheme showed that “pension benefit from his past service had not been ignored and counted in present service”. The contribution towards the New Pension scheme is 10 per cent of the basic pay, plus dearness allowance with equal government contribution.
The pay due to him on account of his post after the sixth pay commission was R80,000 (fixed) a month from August 27, 2008, after revision from R26,000 (fixed).
He is reemployed with the Ministry after having taken voluntary retirement from his past service at SAC Ahmedabad, which falls under ISRO.
The audit report says the rule is that instead of drawing the full salary as secretary in addition to the pension from the past employment, “the non-ignorable part of the pension shall be reduced from the pay so fixed”.
It also quotes para eight under CCS (fixation of pay of reemployed pensioners) orders 1986, “The pay of the re-employed pensioner shall be fixed… with reference to the pay in the previous re-employment post (before adjustment).
Adjustment from the pay so fixed, on account of pension
and pension equivalent of retirement benefits shall be continued to be made to the same extent as was being made earlier. This will, however, remain subject to the condition that the pay plus pension and pension equivalent of gratuity shall not exceed R80,000 per month at anytime.”
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Officiating Director, NIPER for drawing Pension and also taking full salary, which amounts to grave misconduct and is a punishable offense.  Officiating Director took voluntary retirement from RRL Jammu on 31^st Aug 1994 and opted for pro rata pension; on 1^st Sep 1994 he joined NIPER and started receiving full salary with DA.