The Maharashtra State Gazetted Officers’ Federation has urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to raise the retirement age of government employees to 60 from the current 58, taking a cue from the Centre and 25 other states.

In a letter to Fadnavis dated August 10, the federation said the Union government raised the retirement age of its employees to 60 years in 1998, and 25 states adopted the same policy subsequently.

It welcomed the state government’s recent decision to raise the retirement age of judicial officers serving in subordinate courts to 62 years in compliance with an interim order of the Supreme Court. The government should consider extending a similar benefit to state government employees, the association said, referring to the principle of equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.

Of 7.19 lakh sanctioned posts in the state government, around 2.75 lakh, or 35 per cent, are vacant, and vacancies increase by 3 per cent every year due to retirement, the federation said, adding that instead of filling these posts, retired employees are being appointed on contractual basis.

Raising the retirement age would help the government retain the services of experienced officers and make available a large amount of money that would otherwise have to be paid as retirement benefits, it said.

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