Guwahati: Government employees retiring from service in Assam are set to get closer monitoring of their pension cases, with the state government directing administrative departments to ensure that Pension Payment Orders (PPOs) are issued at least one month before an employee’s retirement.
The directive has been issued by the Administrative Reforms, Training, Pension & Public Grievances Department following instructions from Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma. The move is aimed at preventing delays in pension processing and ensuring that retiring employees do not face unnecessary difficulties after completing their service.
Senior Officials to Track Pension Cases
Under the new instructions, the Senior-Most Secretary of each administrative department will be responsible for regularly reviewing whether retiring employees have submitted their pension-related documents within the required timeframe.
The monitoring will cover offices functioning under the respective department so that pension cases can be identified and processed well ahead of an employee’s retirement date.
The government has also instructed departments to periodically prepare lists of retirees who have already been registered on the Kritagyata portal but have not yet submitted their pension forms to the concerned Head of Office (HOO).
Such lists will be shared with the relevant offices so that pending forms can be submitted promptly and the pension proposals can move forward through the subsequent stages of processing.
Delays at Office Level to Be Monitored
The government has placed emphasis not only on retirees but also on delays occurring at the office level.
Heads of Offices have been instructed to ensure that completed pension proposals are forwarded through the Kritagyata portal to the Accountant General (AG), Assam, or the Directorate of Pension (DOP), Assam, depending on the applicable procedure.
The move is intended to prevent pension files from remaining pending after the employee has submitted the necessary documents.
Kritagyata Portal to Receive Retirement Data
According to the government’s prescribed monitoring mechanism, the Finance Department will use the FinAssam portal to regularly provide retiree information to the Kritagyata portal.
This data is expected to facilitate the automatic addition of employees to the portal 12 months before their scheduled retirement date, giving departments and employees sufficient time to complete the pension process.
Administrative departments have been asked to use their Department Admin accounts on the Kritagyata portal to identify and follow up on delays at both the retiree and Head of Office levels.
PPOs Targeted Before Retirement
The final responsibility will rest with the authorities responsible for approving and issuing pensions. They have been directed to take timely action on pension cases so that the Pension Payment Order is issued at least one month before the employee’s retirement.
The government hopes that closer digital monitoring and early identification of pending cases will make the pension process more predictable for retiring employees and reduce last-minute delays in the settlement of retirement benefits.
