Patna, October 13: Cash strapped Bihar government today decided to give revised pension benefits to its over 3.53 lakh retired employees with effect April 1,2007, Deputy Chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi today said.
Modi, who also holds the Finance portfolio told reporters here that the state would be incurring an extra burden of nearly Rs 900 crore in providing pension benefits to its retired employees on the occasion of approaching “Chath” and Deepawali festivals.
While the state government had to spend Rs 3479 on pension payment front during 2008-09, the government would now be spending Rs 4,382 crore on pension payment front during the current fiscal.
The pension payment to the retired government employees would be at par with Central government employees and the payment would be made in accordance with the recommendations of the sixth pay commission report.
Modi said the government had also come out with a revised pension scheme for the employees having attained 80 to 100 years of age or more. The revised pension payment to this category of employees would commence from August 2009, he said and added that pension fund would not be less than Rs 3,500 per month.
—Agencies