Pension blues for the elderly

With no fixed dates in place to receive ones hard-earned pension,oldage is turning out to be not as comfortable for the retired government employees in Kalka and Pinjore as they might have hoped for.

The distribution of oldage pension scheme in Haryana is in complete disorder with pension holders at times receiving their dues on the 7th and sometimes as late as 25th of a month.

Result: The aged are left with no choice when it comes to planning an outing or a trip to their relatives place.

For the month of July,for instance,pension was disbursed after the 25th. The aged were seen queuing outside the Municipal committee office of Pinjore and Kalka for their pensions.

Seventy-five-year-old Banti Devi and Krishna Devi from Lower Karari Mohalla and Bharat Nagar respectively,who were among those waiting in anticipation for their pension at the Municipal Committee,Kalka,told Newsline that they had been waiting at the office for hours.

Similar scenes were witnessed at the Pinjore Municipal Committee.

District social welfare officer,Panchkula,Hakam Singh,when contacted over the issue agreed that there was indeed no fixed date for distributing pension but he put the blame on the Municipal committee and gram panchayat.

Haryana Commissioner of Social Justice and Empowerment,Navraj Sandhu,on the other hand,told Newsline that pension was mostly sent in time but the faulty distribution system may have caused the delay.

She,however,feigned ignorance over the matter.

Story continues below this ad

In urban areas,the distribution of pension is being attempted through banks from April 2010 onwards but rural areas do not have the required banking facilities,Sandhu further said.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram