Saturday 20 Apr 2024

HBA ordinance: Cruel joke on employees

AIRES RODRIGUES, Ribandar | SEPTEMBER 21, 2020, 11:26 PM IST

The skewed ordinance issued by the Goa government suddenly abolishing the 1988 House Building Advance (HBA) Scheme is most foul and a crude joke on the government employees.

Acting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari should have applied his mind and analysed the repercussions before approving that ordinance which brings untold financial misery to government servants who have over the years availed of the scheme. 

The ordinance further very outrageously prevents the government employees from approaching the Courts on this issue. If Satya Pal Malik was still the Governor of Goa he would never have given his nod to such a draconian step.

The government employees were paying 2% interest on their home loan and the monthly instalment was computed in keeping with their monthly salary. Now suddenly by having to pay around 10% interest, the instalment would shoot up putting the financial lives of the government employees in a mess. 

By this uncalled for and high-handed ordinance the government is to be solely blamed for the mental stress that is being inflicted on the government servants who to add to their misery are currently also not being paid their Dearness Allowance (DA).

Incidentally the Central Government was also planning to scrap their HBA Scheme but the move has been kept on hold.

Government’s austerity measures cannot be putting the lives of its employees in jeopardy. There should infact be a total embargo on needless grandiose projects. 

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