Reported by: Mrinal Banik

Agartala: Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy on Wednesday said the state government could not be held responsible for pension and retiral benefits of employees recruited by the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) without the concurrence of the state Finance Department.

Singha Roy said employees recruited with the Finance Department’s approval had not been deprived of pension or other retiral benefits.

He was responding to questions on a recent Tripura High Court order concerning pension benefits of employees of the autonomous council. The court had restrained senior TTAADC officials from drawing their salaries until the grievances of the petitioners were fully addressed.

“A large number of state government employees serve in the TTAADC administration on deputation. Their pension and retiral benefits are being extended as per rules,” Singha Roy said.

“If some recruitments are conducted without the approval of the state Finance Department and we do not have records of those employees, I feel the TTAADC is the better authority to speak on this,” he said.

The minister said the issue had also been discussed with the concerned authorities following the High Court’s direction.

Finance Secretary P K Goyal said the TTAADC was an autonomous body which received a share of taxes and local body grants from the state government. The council prepares its own budget and meets its expenditure from those resources, he said.

“We transfer the share of taxes. It is the responsibility of the TTAADC to manage its resources,” Goyal said.

He said the state government was not fully aware of why the council had been unable to pay pensions. However, since the High Court had directed the state to look into the matter, the government would examine it.

“But it has to be noted here that paying pension to employees of TTAADC is its liability, not the liability of the state government,” Goyal said.

On the discontinuation of the revenue gap grant, Singha Roy said Tripura was among the states affected by the decision following the recommendation of the 16th Finance Commission. The state had received around Rs 4,000 crore annually under the grant, he said.

He said the government was exploring ways to increase its own revenue without imposing new taxes. The state had also approached the Union Finance Minister, while Chief Minister Manik Saha had spoken to the Prime Minister, he said.

Singha Roy said Tripura had received Rs 3,450 crore under the new “Pride of Hill” scheme, which could be used for purposes including ongoing schemes and loan repayment.

He, however, rejected the description of the state’s financial situation as a crisis, saying the government had continued recruitment drives, festival grants and other benefits.