DPI makes life miserable for 2K teachers

More than two thousand government school teachers, who are spouses of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India employees, have become victims of the transfer norms of the state government.

Though the government order clearly says they are eligible to get relaxation from the permanent transfer rule, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has left out Life Insurance Corporation from the list of public sector undertakings (PSUs), leaving the teachers, who are spouses of its employees, in the lurch.

In a letter, available with DH, the DPI had sought clarification from the Life Insurance Corporation on whether it could be classified as PSU, in the month of July.

The affected teachers say though the clarification for the same was given by LIC, the DPI went ahead with the transfers.

“During the previous transfers, LIC was very much in the PSU list and we all got relaxation. Even after a clarification was given by LIC, by clearly mentioning the Act under which it was formed, DPI is reluctant to consider our cases. I think they are trying to hide their mistake,” an affected teacher told DH. Dakshina Kannada and Shivamogga districts have the highest number of such cases.

“LIC came into existence in 1956, when Parliament passed the Life Insurance of India Act, that nationalised the private insurance industry in India. Hence, it is a statutory corporation. It is classified as a PSU and is fully owned by the Government of India,” LIC said in its clarification.

DPI’s response

“LIC is not owned by the Government of India (GoI), it is only sponsored by GoI. We can give exemption only to PSUs owned by the state and central governments. The stake of GoI in Life Insurance Corporation is 5%. If the government has more than 50% stake in a body, it can be considered as apublic sector undertakings. We have also taken confirmation from the head office of LIC in Hyderabad, before the decision,” K G Jagadeesh, Commissioner, DPI, said.