The Haryana government, in a significant move, has granted the benefits of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and other service entitlements to nearly 350 officials of the state transport department. This decision, coming nearly a quarter-century after their initial employment, provides long-awaited regularization to drivers, conductors, and supporting staff of Haryana Roadways.
Cabinet Approves Pension and Service Benefits
The decision was taken during a meeting of the Haryana cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in Chandigarh on Thursday. The 347 officials who stand to benefit were originally appointed on a contractual basis. The cabinet's approval now ensures they will be treated as regular employees with all associated benefits.
Specifically, drivers recruited in 2002 will have their regular service status counted from their original date of appointment. This move guarantees several key benefits:
- Grant of Assured Career Progression (ACP) by counting service from the initial appointment date.
- Coverage under the Old Pension Scheme and the Family Pension Scheme of 1964.
- Opening of General Provident Fund (GPF) accounts.
Compassionate Appointment and Land Lease Decisions
In a separate but notable decision, the cabinet approved a one-time compassionate appointment for Santosh Kumari. She is the wife of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Sandeep Kumar Lather of Haryana Police, who died by suicide in the aftermath of the controversy following IPS officer Y Puran Kumar's suicide. The cabinet cleared her appointment to the post of PGT Mathematics (Group B) at the Campus School of Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak.
The cabinet also gave its nod to a proposal for leasing 4 acre, 01 kanal, and 17 marla of land belonging to Rattewali gram panchayat in Panchkula. The land will be leased to the Kamdhenu Gau Sewa Samiti, Saketri, Panchkula, for establishing a gaushala (cow shelter) with a capacity for 570 animals. The lease period has been set for 20 years.
Amendment to Curb Misuse of Land Exchange Deeds
With an aim to prevent the misuse of exchange deeds for unauthorized land transactions in notified urban areas, the government proposed an amendment to the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975. The cabinet approved the issuance of the 'Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (Haryana Amendment) Ordinance, 2025'.
This amendment involves inserting "exchange deeds" under Section 7A of the principal Act. The objective is to bring these deeds, which are increasingly being used as instruments for indirect sales, under the formal regulatory framework of the law, thereby enhancing governance and transparency in urban land transactions.
These series of decisions by the Haryana cabinet address long-pending employee welfare issues, provide relief to a bereaved police family, and introduce a regulatory tweak to strengthen urban land administration in the state.
