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Not increasing retirement age
a wise decision
The editorial, “A bold decision: Keeping retirement age at 58 is wise” (April 6) rightly hails the decision of the Punjab government for keeping the retirement age at 58 years. This was certainly the need of the hour. By not raising the retirement age to 60, the government has surely opened the gates for the unemployed youth of Punjab who are going astray. Raising the recruitment age from 35 to 37 years will also help solve the problem of unemployment in the state to a greater extent. The magnitude of unemployment in Punjab can be felt by seeing the record-breaking number of applicants for a few posts, which are advertised. What makes the situation worse is that candidates with qualifications as high as MBAs and PhDs often apply for ordinary jobs. In fact, the retirement age should be lowered to 55 instead of the present 58. This will solve the unemployment problem to a much greater extent. The quality of governance will improve with the passage of time. The concluding lines of the editorial “saving money by trimming the bloated bureaucracy and checking public spending and leakage of funds” deserve the immediate attention of the government. It should also be noted with concern that the employees, both serving and those who retired since 2006, have not been paid their arrears of the new pay scales with effect from January 1, 2006. The Punjab government should, at least, release the arrears of pay, gratuity and leave encashment to those who have already retired in the year 2006. The retirees are still awaiting these benefits. R K KAPOOR, Chandigarh
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II The Punjab Government’s decision not to increase the retirement age is more than welcome. It has been possible due to the efforts of Punjab’s Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. He was able to make the Cabinet understand that the government would be at a great loss. As the amount these employees would have got as pays and allowances as well as the retirement benefits after two years would have been far greater than the amount the government would be saving by withholding their retirement benefits for two years in order to use it. During the last decade or so there has been growing unemployment in the state. Seeing the state of affairs it will not be bad if the retirement age is further decreased and extension is given only in exceptional cases. Maj NARINDER SINGH JALLO (retd), SAS Nagar III The bold decision of the Punjab Government to keep the retirement age at 58 years should be appreciated by all. Moreover, it will benefit the unemployed youth. However, the quality of the government service must improve, particularly at the bureaucratic level. AMAR JIT SINGH GORAYA, Griffith NSW, Australia Foreign craze Prabhjot Singh’s article “Punjabi immigrants in trouble” (April 3) once again brought to the fore the problems that Punjabis face in foreign lands. Obsessive craze to migrate to foreign countries is playing havoc with the lives of the youth. It is time the people of Punjab learn their lessons from their past experiences. H KALSI, Los Angeles, USA CBI probe The editorial “CBI on the mat: Probe the judge-bribery scam properly” (March 30) has rightly stated that in view of the increasing cases of corruption in the higher judiciary, the Centre ought to inform the people about the judges’ impropriety and misconduct and subject them to close scrutiny. The CBI must probe the matter thoroughly and impartially as to where the alleged money has gone and who was the actual recipient of a bag containing Rs 15 lakh sent by the former Haryana Assistant Advocate General Sanjiv Bansal. Since people have great expectations from the judiciary any act of misconduct and misdemeanour on their part should be viewed seriously and they should be held responsible for their acts of omission and commission. The rule of law must prevail in our country. ANIL BHATIYA, Hisar Untested vaccines The editorial “Untested vaccines” (March 30) was apt. Deaths caused during clinical trials reflect callous disregard for human life. Trials cannot be conducted at the cost of innocent and precious human lives. Sale of untested vaccines must be checked. Pharmaceutical companies too must be aware of their responsibility. ANJU D ANAND, Chambaghat (Solan)
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