Chandigarh, August 5 - The Haryana Government has issued clear directions to the departments in the matters of family pension to widowed or divorced daughters and disabled children, asking them to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the Haryana Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2016 in such cases.
Haryana Chief Secretary Mr. Anurag Rastogi, who also holds the charge of Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, has issued a letter in this regard to all the Heads of Departments, Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, Sub-Divisional Officers (Civil).
The letter states that it has come to the notice of the Principal Accountant General (Accounts and Entitlements) that the pension cases of widowed or divorced daughters and disabled children by the Pension Sanctioning Officers of various departments are often not as per the rules, which creates difficulty in determining the dependency of the claimant or dependent family member.
The definition of family for the purpose of family pension is clarified in Rule 8(10)(b) of the Haryana Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 2016. Note-3 given below Rule 8(10)(b) of the said Rules provides that a son or daughter who has been validly adopted is included in the list of legally adopted children, whether adopted under Hindu law or any private procedure.
If they are living with the employee and are wholly dependent on him, then they are eligible for family pension. However, step children are not included in this.