Theheli Thonger
Student at Mezhur Higher Secondary School
Pension in Nagaland is not retirement and rest. It is not the quiet closure of a career, rather it's the start of months and even years of running to different offices just to get what one truly deserves.
A government servant in Nagaland does not receive pension, they pursue it. The last working day ends, the real work begins. Files on pension and arrears which are to be handled by the clerks and assistants, now becomes the responsibility of a person whose knees are older than the clerk's service. Is this the reward for service?
I sometimes wonder if the files in Nagaland walk on rupees because if it runs on rules, it is forever delayed. Maybe, money is the speedpost. Maybe only when the “tea expense” is paid by someone else, does the tea taste better or the work gets faster?
It is time the government take cognizance of the matter. While top officials who have “someone” gets their pension the very next month, a mere clerk, a peon or maybe a teacher, who has faithfully done his service is left waiting for months to get what he truly deserves. The gratuity, arrears and GPF meant to guarantee a good life after pension, lands up in the pockets of people who have never done a single job.
It is time the government sets up clear and rigid rules like the Central Service Rules which includes starting the pension case of the person two years before retirement by the HOD’s, interest on delay and many such. It is also the duty of the public to take all necessary actions against the department and bring the issue to the highest platform possible.
I, therefore, request the Government, the departments, the public leaders to take cognizance of the issue and formulate the best policy possible
(The author is a topper of the HSLC 2024-2025 and is a budding writer and poet)
