Hyderabad: The joint action committee (JAC) of state employees and pensioners has set a deadline of October 21 for the government to address their long-pending demands, which include the payment of dearness allowance (DA) arrears, issuance of health cards, clearance of bills, and justice for those affected by GO 317.
JAC chairman Maram Jagadeeswar, secretary general Eluri Sreenivasa Rao and general secretary Mujeeb met V. Sheshadri, principal secretary to the Chief Minister, at the Secretariat on Friday and submitted a formal representation outlining their concerns.
The JAC leaders said that DA arrears had not been paid since 2022. They pointed out the government's failure to clear pending bills related to employee retirement benefits.
Another major issue raised was the ineffectiveness of the health cards issued under the BRS government. Private and corporate hospitals are reportedly refusing to honour these cards, citing unpaid arrears and delays in the release of funds by the government. The JAC leaders stated that employees are willing to contribute their share toward health cards but demand the scheme's proper implementation.
The JAC said that the Congress had promised in its 2023 Assembly election manifesto the resolution of nine key demands. They said 41 additional demands remained unaddressed.
They said that employees and pensioners, who played a significant role in bringing the Congress to power, were disappointed by what they perceive as the government's neglect of their issues.
