The Haryana Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, has approved a series of measures that will affect state transport employees and beneficiaries of social schemes. The most immediate relief goes to 347 drivers who were originally appointed on contract in 2002 and later regularised in 2006.
Haryana Old Pension Scheme drivers to be regularised from 2002
The government has decided these drivers will be treated as regular from their initial date of appointment in 2002. That recognition remedies a long-standing anomaly that left some senior drivers receiving lower pay and pensionary benefits than juniors who were appointed from 2003 onwards and were covered by a mutual settlement signed in January 2014.
Under the Cabinet decision, qualifying service will be counted from the original appointment date. The measures include coverage under the Old Pension Scheme and the Family Pension Scheme, 1964, opening of General Provident Fund accounts and entitlement to advance pay commissions (ACP) calculated from the initial date of service. Officials said the move aims to bring parity among similarly placed employees and eliminate pay anomalies that had persisted for years.
Beyond the transport department relief, the Cabinet approved several other administrative and social measures. A compassionate appointment has been sanctioned as a one-time special measure: Smt. Santosh Kumari, widow of the late Assistant Sub Inspector Sandeep Kumar Lather, will be appointed as PGT Mathematics at the Campus School of Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak.
The Cabinet also approved the lease of 4 acres, 1 kanal and 17 marla of Gram Panchayat land at Rattewali in Barwala block, Panchkula district, to Kamdhenu Gau Sewa Samiti for a period of 20 years for the establishment of a gaushala with capacity for 570 animals.
On urban regulation, the government moved to tighten controls on indirect land sales by amending the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975. The amendment brings exchange deeds under section 7A of the Act through the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (Haryana Amendment) Ordinance, 2025. The change is designed to curb unauthorised sub-division and misuse of exchange transactions in notified urban areas, thereby strengthening planned urban development.
Significant amendments were also approved to the Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana (DDLLY), a scheme launched in September 2025 to enhance women’s social security in Haryana. The monthly benefit of Rs 2,100 will continue, but from the second month assistance will be split: Rs 1,100 credited directly to the beneficiary’s savings account and Rs 1,000 deposited in a government-operated recurring deposit or fixed deposit. The accumulated amount will be paid on maturity, with the deposit tenure capped at five years.
The DDLLY changes introduce social development-linked eligibility in addition to income criteria. Mothers whose children secure more than 80 percent in Class 10 or 12 board exams, or who achieve grade-level competency under the NIPUN Bharat Mission in early grades, will qualify under an expanded income limit. Those who rehabilitate children from severe or moderate acute malnutrition, as verified by the Women and Child Development Department, will also be eligible. Community-level validation by Gram Sabhas, Area Sabhas or Ward Committees will be used to strengthen transparency and prevent misuse.
Officials described the Cabinet’s package as directed at correcting historical anomalies, strengthening social protections and improving governance mechanisms across departments. The measures combine personnel regularisation, targeted social support and regulatory tightening intended to promote equity and planned development across the state.
Key Takeaways:
- Haryana Old Pension Scheme drivers will be treated as regular from their 2002 appointment, restoring seniority and pension parity.
- The move grants ACP, Old Pension Scheme and GPF accounts, and counts qualifying service from initial appointment.
- Cabinet also approved compassionate appointment for a late ASI’s wife, urban development law amendments and changes to the Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana.
- The DDLLY amendments split monthly payments between immediate bank credit and a government RD/FD to promote savings and link benefits to social development outcomes.
