Aizawl: Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma informed the Assembly on Monday that employees no longer fit to perform their official duties “due to terminal illness” would be given voluntary pension under the newly-introduced Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2024.
He said service review committees are being formed in all the departments to find out non-performing employees, who are unable to perform their duties due to various reasons, including health issues.
“Our government has introduced a special voluntary pension scheme for employees. Any employee, who is no longer fit to execute his or her duty, is expected to apply for voluntary pension under the scheme. We are not trying to sack the employees but give them an opportunity for their honourable exit,” the chief minister said.
He said there can be no good governance and strong government unless the quality of service is reformed and improved.
According to the Mizoram Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2024, notified in January this year, regular employees governed by CCS Rules, 1972, who have not rendered a minimum of 20 years of service, and employees governed by the Mizoram New Defined Contributory System, 2010, may seek voluntary retirement under the scheme.
Employees engagement in proxies was deeply rooted in Mizoram. After rising to power in 2023, the Zoram People’s Movement government pledged to end the decades-old practice of illegally hiring proxies by government employees and directed such employees to report to their respective departments.
It was found during a subsequent survey that the state had 3,365 government employees from 44 departments who hired proxies.
While there were several reasons for hiring substitutes, the majority of employees, numbering more than 2,000, cited health reasons, and 703 employees cited domestic problems.
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In June last year, the state government had directed such employees hiring proxies to be posted at their respective posting places within 45 days.
Stating that there is currently no report of employees hiring proxies, Lalduhoma warned that the offenders would face strong actions.
