Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Software pangs for defense pensioners: Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.





Chandigarh, December 1- Some Defence Pension Disbursing

Offices (DPDOs) are refusing to release pension in accordance

with new scales till the time they are provided new computer

programmes by the Controller General of Defence Accounts

(CGDA).
Departmental reply to a query under the RTI, which was

produced during hearing of a case before the Chandigarh Bench

of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), states that the new pension

would be fixed on receipt of revised computerised programme

from the CGDA as no manual revisions by the DPDO office is

authorised.
While majority of veterans drawing their pension through banks

are getting their benefits as per the revised scale post-Sixth Pay

Commission implementation, those dependent on DPDOs are still

getting lesser pension.
Taking up the case of an 80-year old widow, Swaran Kaur, the AFT

has ordered that her family pension be revised within two months.

The AFT also directed a representative of the Controller of Defence

Accounts to be present before it on the next date of hearing to explain

the inordinate delay in revising pensions.
Swaran Kaur’s husband, Santok Singh, a World War-II veteran had

died in December 2006. He was getting pension in accordance with

Fifth Pay Commission rates. In November 2008, Presidential sanction

was accorded for raising the scales of pension in accordance with the

Sixth Pay Commission.
Under revised rates, the pension of similarly placed individuals was

raised from Rs 1,275 per month to Rs 3,500 per month.
Between November 2008 to August 2009, the petitioner and her son

visit the DPDO office regularly, but the rates of pension in her case are

not revised nor is she paid arrears.
In September 2009, the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts also

writes to the DPDO concerned, asking him to act in accordance with the

revised scales and make the payment to the widow. However, her

pension still remained unrevised.


Veteran Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd.

President,

Indian Ex-services League,Punjab & Chandigarh.

Mob.098554-09128,Tele-Fax 0175-5000896.

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