Give me less pension, ex-engineer writes to Punjab CM

CHANDIGARH: While one often hears of government employees striking work demanding hike in wages, 75-year-old Rajinder Pal Goyal , a retired engineer settled in Mohali, has written to the Punjab chief minister seeking a cut of Rs 10,000 in his pension.
He had completed his engineering diploma from central polytechnic in 1963 and joined the state irrigation department the year after.He retired as sub-divisional officer in 2001 and has been drawing a pension of around Rs 34,500.
Goyal has now decided to set an example for his fraternity in a state which is struggling with debt of Rs 1.32 lakh crore. Interestingly, whereas he has set an example for others, his wife is not too happy with the unusual decision. "I believe in sacrifice. I'm pained when I see people drawing much larger amounts keep cribbing that they are cash strapped. My wife does not have the same thought process as me and took exception to my decision," he said.
The retired engineer is also involved in philanthropic activities and plays a key role in a hospital run by a trust in his hometown Sunam. "Even in Mohali, I spend 95% of my time counselling people on how to follow an ideal lifestyle," he said. The application moved by Goyal on April 4, has already been marked by the finance department for disposal. "This was in response to my reminder nearly four months after I made the original respect to the CM office and the finance minister," he said.