Chennai, Mar 11 (IANS): The announcements made by the Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh governments for restoring old pension schemes in their respective states have kindled the hopes of the government employees in Tamil Nadu.

The Himachal Pradesh Government has also taken steps to constitute a committee to set up under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for restoring the old pension scheme.

P. Fredric Engels, state Coordinator of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) abolishing movement told IANS: "The new pension scheme is totally against the interest of the government employees. By reviving the old pension scheme, the government will not lose anything."

He said that in Tamil Nadu, some beneficial provisions in the CPS were not implemented.

"The CPS in Tamil Nadu does not offer gratuity on superannuation, and if a government employee dies while in service, the family pension is not granted under the new pension scheme," he further said.

G. Venkatesan, leader of the movement against CPS told IANS: "As the Tamil Nadu government has not signed an agreement with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA- a regulatory body under the Union government), it would be easy to revive the old pension scheme."

He said that Rajasthan even after signing an agreement with PFRDA has revived the old pension scheme and hence Tamil Nadu will not face any problems reviving the old pension scheme.

It is to be noted that according to a policy note of the Finance Department for 2021-2022, more than 5.88 lakh employees recruited in Tamil Nadu on or after April 1, 2003, are enrolled under the CPS known as the New Pension Scheme.