HC orders NMC probe over delay in retirees’ dole | Nagpur News

Nagpur: Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) failure to implement a policy granting annual increment benefits to employees retiring on June 30. The bench directed municipal commissioner to identify those responsible, initiate disciplinary action and submit a compliance report.The order came while hearing a petition filed by Abdul Hannan and others, retired NMC employees who sought benefit of the July 1 annual increment for recalculation of their pension and other retiral dues. The inquiry is likely to bring nearly 40 NMC dept heads under scrutiny.A division bench comprising Justices Anil Pansare and Rajnish Vyas noted the legal issue was already settled by Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court in a judgement delivered on June 24, 2021. Despite this, NMC, through a communication dated March 20, 2023, insisted employees would have to produce the court judgement before the benefit could be extended.The High Court held that this stand was contrary to the settled legal position. The matter has been posted for further hearing on Aug 13.During the hearing, the NMC produced a circular dated Aug 30, 2023, directing all department heads to invite applications from eligible retired employees, verify their service records and process the benefits.However, the corporation informed the court that the exercise remained incomplete as it involved 40 dept heads.Expressing strong displeasure, the bench observed despite the circular being issued nearly 3 years ago, the corporation had not even initiated process of inviting applications from eligible retirees.Court described failure of dept heads as serious enough to warrant disciplinary action, directing the municipal commissioner to take appropriate action against erring officials.