ALL
INDIA ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL TAX
GAZETTED EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS
Patron
Chief Patron
Patron
A. Venkatesh Ravi Malik
C. S. Sharma
Mob.
7780255361 Mob. 9868816290 Mob.
9313885411
President: Address for
communication:
Secretary General:
M.
Loganathan Flat
No. 6, SE 11, Shastri Nagar, Ghaziabad Harpal Singh
Mob.8758262698 mail
Id:aiacegeo2019@gmail.com Site:cengoindia.blogspot.in Mob.9717510598
Vice Presidents: B C Khatik, V
Pagare (Central) Diwakar Sahai, Sanjoy
Gupta (East) Ashish Vajpayee, Amadul Islam (North) G Srinivas Reddy, P
Ravichandran (South) R Keny, J B Parmar (West) Joint Secretaries: S P
Pandey, T J Manojumon (Central) Subrata Adhikari, SiddharthTewari (East)
Ramkesh Meena, S Sahai (West) Atul Kumar, R B Sahu (North) Bhoopesh, R V
Raghunandan (South); All India Convener:
A K Meena All India Coordinator: B L Meena Office Secretary: B C
Gupta Treasuer: M Kumar Organising Secretary: M Bajpai Liaison
Secretary: N S Maheshwari North Zone
Coordinator: Prabhakar Sharma Legal Coordinator: S Sabarwal
Vigilance Coordinator: R K Singh South
Zone Coordinator: U Sharma
(Earlier known as
All India Association of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers)
Ref. No. 83/AIB/T/23 Dt. 19.06.23
To,
Sh. Vivek Johri,
Chairman,
CBIC,
North Block, New
Delhi.
Sub: Request
for making suitable changes in the transfer & posting guidelines and other rules/provisions
in accordance with the Maintenance & Welfare of Parents & Senior
Citizens Act.
Sir,
Your kind attention is drawn to the Maintenance and Welfare
of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 as amended.
2. It is submitted with due regards that the duties of
the government have been prescribed in the Directive Principals of State Policy
(Article 37-51 of Constitution of India) and the duties of the citizens are prescribed
in Fundamental Duties (Article 51A of Constitution of India) in our
Constitutional Democracy. Article 41 of Directive Principals of State Policy directs
the government to provide assistance in case of old age, sickness and
disablement but the Article 51A of Fundamental Duties casts no such obligation
on the individual citizens of india.
In such a scenario, a welfare state cannot shift its Constitutional obligation
on the citizen by using its legislative power. It has been made a legal
obligation for every ward to maintain his/her grandparents, parents and
parents-in-law (दादा, दादी, माँ, बाप, सास और ससुर)
with the enactment of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior
Citizens Act, 2007 (amended in 2019) vide section 4(3) of this act to enable such parents to lead a
normal life.
3. If the state has to shift its responsibility of
looking after the needs of old age citizens on their wards, the means to look
after the well being of the aged citizens also have to come from the state but
no suitable amendments in the leave rules, medical rules, LTC rules and
financial rules etc. have been made to enable the government servants to get
leaves and reimbursement of expenses for catering to the requirements of old
age parents (including grand
parents & parents in law). The government
needs to provide paid leaves to the government servants to look after the needs
of old age parents/grandparents/parents in law as provided to female government
employees for looking after the children.
4. The CBIC is having a separate Directorate namely DGHRD
for looking after the HR issues. The DGHRD has framed policy guidelines for
transfer and posting of officials of CBIC. The DGHRD ought to have made
suitable amendments in the transfer policy keeping in mind the obligations casted
upon the individuals by the MwPSC
Act but the DGHRD has not taken into account these obligations. Hence, the
officers and the staff of the department face difficulty in fulfilling the
obligations towards the aging parents/grandparents/parents in law. So, it is
requested to kindly make the following changes in the transfer posting
guidelines and other provisions keeping in mind the MwPSC Act whether belonging to Group A or B or C officials-
A. The officers and staff should be granted a separate
kind of paid leaves for attending the hospitalized parents/grandparents/parents.
For this, CCS (Leave) Rules should also be suitably amended in tune with the
MWPSC Act. Various old age diseases should be categorised on the basis of human
intervention needed in those diseases, so that the time and amount of paid
leaves the government servant needs can be decided. While deciding the leaves,
the obligation casted on the government servant under section 4(3) should be
kept in mind. It requires the son/daughter to provide the conditions, to enable
parents to lead a normal life. This Act defines “maintenance” as provisions for
food, clothing, residence and medical attendance and treatment, and “welfare”
as provisions for food, health care, recreation centres and other amenities
necessary for the senior citizens.
B. The permission for late coming (like women have for
feeding the children) or going home in between for feeding the toddlers should
be given in suitable cases where the “parents” of the government servant have
problem of mobility and need help in attending to daily chores.
C. The CGHS Rules, CS (MA) Rules, CCS (LTC) Rules, CCS
(Leave) Rules, GFR & FR/SR and the like should be suitably amended so that the
depending parents, grandparents & parents in law may also be incorporated under
the definition of “family” enabling the govt. employee to make expenses and get
reimbursement while fulfilling the responsibilities casted under the said MWPSC
Act.
D. In old age, parents/grandparents/parents in law/senior
citizens sometimes require special medical equipment like Hearing Aid,
Nebulizer, Oxygen Concentrator, Wheel Chair, supporting structure in toilet and
bathroom etc. These expenses should be reimbursed under the CGHS Rules/CS (MA)
Rules and also from the welfare fund of the department.
E. The application for posting to a particular station
having the medical facilities should be considered on priority basis, if the parents/grandparents/parents
in law are having medical conditions needing specialized medical
intervention/care like Cancer, kidney failure and other similar medical
conditions etc.
F. Presently, the parents who are not dependent on the government
servant are not includable in the CGHS card of the government servant and the
parents-in-law and grandparents are also not includable under any condition. If
a parent earns rupees nine thousand per month, he or she is not dependent on
the government servant. This condition of dependability should be removed as rupees
nine thousand is not sufficient to meet the daily life and medical expenses in
old age. If the parents/parents in law/grandparents are excluded from the CGHS
card/CS(MA) benefits, their medical expenses would be a huge burden on the
government servant. So, they should also be includable in the CGHS card/ CS(MA)
Rules meant for the government servant to fulfill the obligations as prescribed
under the MwPSC Act.
G. If a Government servant dies while his parents/grandparents/parents
in law are still alive, the retirement benefits of the government servant go
only to spouse and children. This situation leaves the old aged parents/grandparents/parents
in law without any financial support. To improve this situation, the definition
of family (for all government purposes) should include parents, grandparents
and parents in law also.
H. If the parents/grandparents/parents in law need medical
attendance by a nurse or need an attendant (in specific medical conditions),
the expenses incurred on procuring such attendant/s should be reimbursable to
the government servant like school fee of the wards. The Assam Government has
passed Assam Employees Parents Responsibility and Norms for Accountability and
Monitoring (PRANAM) Bill, 2017, where dependent parents not having any source
of income can get up to 10 per cent of the salary of the employee. If there are
other physically challenged siblings, it can go upto 15 percent. Like it; if a
government servant keeps his/her parents, he/she should be paid some additional
amount as part of salary (as the medical expenses in India are very costly and
the government inspite of its obligation under Article 47 is unable to provide
free medical care) as the salary for the government servant has been calculated
at present on the basis of the life expenses of spouse and children only. The life
expenses of parents/grandparents/parents in law have not been included in the
salary. Further, the parents/grandparents/parents in law are not part of the
family as per the existing definition under various rules. So, nothing is paid
to the government servant on account of taking care and incurring various
expenses of parents/grandparents/parents in law.
I. To fulfill their obligation under the Act, the offices
should have a facility for old age parents (like creche is for toddlers) where
the government servant can keep their parents during office hours in case both
husband and wife are working or the government servant doesn’t have spouse and the
parents/grandparents/parents in law are having a medical condition needing
frequent human intervention. It is also worth to mention in this regards that it’s
an obligation on the government under section 19 of the Maintenance and Welfare
of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 to provide the old age homes.
J. There are 19 training institutes under CBIC to conduct
training on various subjects. There should also be included training on care to
the aged parents/grandparents/parents in law during various medical conditions to
enable the officers and staff of the department to efficiently discharge their
obligations under the MwPSC Act.
These courses may include nutritional needs of the senior citizens, suitable
amendments to the living spaces for the aged ones, care for specific old age
ailments like arthritis, asthma, heart disease etc. etc.
5. In case of any confusion about the aforesaid act and the obligations of the
department, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment may kindly be
consulted, which has drafted the aforesaid Act. For making suitable amendments
in CGHS Rules, CS (MA) Rules, CCS (LTC) Rules, CCS (Leave) Rules, GFR & FR/
SR and the like, DOPT and other nodal ministries/departments may kindly be consulted.
In case of any confusion about the legal obligations of the department to
provide conditions and resources to the employees under the aforesaid act, the Ministry of Law may kindly be
consulted rather than sitting in inaction as has been the case till now after
passing of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act on 29.12.07
by the Parliament.
6. The Association requests and hopes that the
suggestions made by it would be taken in positive spirit to take necessary
measures at an early date.
Thanking
you,
Yours sincerely,
(HARPAL SINGH),
Secretary General.
Copy with the
request for necessary action to:
(1) The Revenue
Secretary, North Block, New Delhi.
(2) The Secretary, Department of Social Justice and
Empowerment, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.
(3) The Secretary,
DOPT, North Block, New Delhi.
(4) The Secretary,
Department of Expenditure, North Block, New Delhi.
(5) The Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Shastri
Bhawan, New Delhi.
(6) The Cabinet Secretary, President House, New Delhi.
