In a recent ruling, the Orissa High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) Commissioner Anam Charan Patra due to a significant delay in pension payments. Justice S K Panigrahi, presiding over the case, ordered the commissioner to pay the fine to Hrushikesh Pani, a retired community organizer who had not received his pension benefits for over two and a half years since his retirement on February 28, 2022.
Justice Panigrahi stated that the delay in disbursing retirement dues, including pensions, infringes upon an employee’s constitutional right to property. He emphasized the need for municipal authorities to be particularly vigilant regarding retirement benefits and to ensure these payments are made promptly.
Hrushikesh Pani had served for 29 years across various municipal capacities, including time at the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Jaleswar municipality, before retiring from the Cuttack Municipal Corporation. After retirement, he sought provisional pension payments beginning March 1, 2022, calculated on a revised Last Pay Certificate (LPC) issued by Jaleswar municipality. His petition also included a request for 18% annual interest on the delayed payment, reflecting the financial loss caused by the delay.
Despite his efforts and appeals to various authorities such as the principal secretary of the urban & housing development department and the Cuttack collector in June 2022, his calls for action had remained unanswered until the high court’s intervention.
