| News Details |
| Press Club of Jammu demands Journalist Pension Schemes like Haryana | | PCJ President hails Haryana Govt pension scheme announcement for Journalists , urges J&K CM to introduce scheme in state | 
Jammu, October 27, (Scoop News)-Post Government of Haryana has announced pension scheme for retired journalists, President, Press Club of Jammu, Ashwani Kumar today urged Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to introduce the similar scheme in the state for the welfare of the working journalists.
Haryana has become the first state of north India to offer pension to retired journalists.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal handed over certificates to 10 veteran journalists yesterday to mark completion of three years of his government.
Under the pension scheme the retired journalists would be entitled to monthly pension of Rs 10,000.
“Journalists in the state of Jammu and Kashmir are working in a conflict zone and they have no security cover for their future life,” said Ashwani Kumar.
Quoting number of examples of journalists leading a miserable life due to no financial security after retirement or meeting an accident, Ashwani said that the Jammu and Kashmir Government should also come up with a scheme keeping in view the circumstances and the atmosphere in which the journalists are covering events.
“Many of the journalists in the state are facing hardships due to financial crunch and there is no help to them from the government side,” he said and appealed to the Chief Minister to address the matter on priority.
Ashwani said that the former Chief Minister and her father, Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had shown keen interest in the proposal, when the Management of the Press Club of Jammu met him and he directed to the government machinery to initiate the process. But unfortunately Journalists welfare Scheme and Journalists Pension Scheme is still pending before the government.
“We hope that the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti will surely follow the footsteps of her father and address the grievances of the journalist fraternity so that they can lead a secure life after retirement or in case meet an untoward like incident,” expressed the Press Club of Jammu head.
He further added that the matter was also putforth before the team of Press Council of India during their Jammu visit and wished that the proposal will be discussed at the concerned platform to bear fruits.
Haryana has joined Kerala and Jharkhand to offer maximum pension of Rs 10,000.
The monthly pension amount varies in other India states between Rs. 2,500 per month to Rs. 8,000 per month.
West Bengal gives Rs. 2,500 per month to retired journalists, Tamil Nadu Rs. 4,000 per month, Bihar Rs. 5,000 per month and Assam Rs. 8,000 per month. Goa and Arunachal Pradesh are the other two states offering pensions to journalists, while the Maharashtra government has also announced pension scheme for journalists.
Unlike other states, in Goa has a contributory pension plan for journalists. They are supposed to deposit a certain amount, based on their age per month, to become eligible for pension upon their retirement.
Press Association of India has already demanded pension and other benefits for working journalists accredited with the Press Information Bureau.
Besides Rs 10,000 monthly pension, journalists get Rs 10 lakh life insurance cover and Rs 5 lakh worth health insurance in Haryana.
The qualification are relatively simple in Haryana since the beneficiary must have completed 60 years of age, he/she must have worked as a journalist for 20 years and should have been recognised by the Haryana government for minimum of five years.
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