Plea for insurance to Wapda retirees

A group of retired employees of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) on Monday filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) seeking directions to authorities for the implementation of court orders regarding disbursal of group line insurance.

The plea, filed in the Peshawar High Court’s Bannu Bench, prayed the court to direct the authorities for the insurance to retirees, pensioners and widows and named the central government, Wapda and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) as respondents.

Barrister Mussadiq Shah filed the petition on behalf of a group of claimants.

The petition contended that since 1985-86 the amount of insurance was being deducted from the retired employees and therefore they were now entitled to be paid the same. However, it lamented, a policy has been devised whereby the insurance money was only reserved for those employees who died during the service.

According to the petitioners, no such option was given to them at the time nor was there any evidence in this regard. They said that the Supreme Court had reinstated group life insurance, following which the governments of Punjab and Balochistan also approved GLI.

Furthermore, the petition also cited an order of the Peshawar High Court which had declared the insurance a right of retired employees.

In its reply to the plea, the Pesco has said that the petitioner should approach the Wapda for GLI.

The court will hold a further hearing case on December 15

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2022.