Srinagar, Sep 30 (KNO): Employees and pensioners in Jammu and Kashmir continue to face hardships as several key dues, including gratuity, leave salary, commutation, and provident fund payments, remain uncleared.
A list displayed at a government office shows that payments under different heads are pending for months, with some arrears cleared only up to dates stretching into mid-2025.
According to the details available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), gratuity has been cleared only up to November 12, 2024. Commutation dues stand pending beyond May 15, 2025, while General Provident Fund (GPF) liabilities are cleared only up to April 11, 2025.
Similarly, State Life Insurance (SLI) has been settled only up to March 31, 2025. Other heads like maintenance and repairs (M&R), deposits, and carried forward (C/F) expenditures are pending beyond August 11, 2025.
Employees and pensioners, many of whom depend on these payments for day-to-day survival, have expressed anguish over the mounting delays. “Retired officials who are battling serious ailments are unable to meet treatment costs as their gratuity and commutation amounts are stuck. Even leave salary dues are pending up to July 2025. This has pushed families into severe financial distress,” a retired government employee told KNO.
Officials in the Finance Department admitted that the delays are largely due to a funds crunch and the staggered release of central grants. “The clearance of liabilities is being done in phases depending on availability of resources. Priority has been given to salary arrears, which have been settled, but other components like gratuity and commutation are taking longer,” a senior finance official said.
The official added that efforts are being made to speed up the release of pending dues, but the volume of liabilities is high. “We are aware of the hardships being faced by pensioners and employees. The government is in touch with the Centre to ensure additional budgetary support so that the backlog can be cleared at the earliest,” the official said.
For many pensioners, however, the assurances bring little comfort. “We have worked our entire lives in government service. Now, when we need support the most, our savings and dues are stuck in files. How do we pay for medicines, weddings of our children, or even household expenses?” asked another pensioner from Srinagar.
The delays, employees say, have become a recurring feature over the past few years, forcing many to borrow money to meet urgent needs. Until the Finance Department clears these liabilities, the distress among the government workforce and pensioners is expected to deepen further—(KNO)