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Two years on, no approval for hike in Chandigarh senior citizens’ pension
At present, Chandigarh is providing widow and old-age pension of ₹1,000 per month to those with annual family income less that ₹1.5 lakh
It has been more over two years since the UT administration started pursuing increasing the pension for senior citizens, widows, and handicapped persons from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000 per month with the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA), but nothing has been accomplished. There are approximately 25,000 beneficiaries of these pensions in the union territory.
At present, the UT is providing widow and old-age pension of ₹1,000 per month to those with annual family income less that ₹1.5 lakh.
UT social welfare department director Palika Arora said, “We have taken up the matter with MHA again and have sought a meeting. We are hopeful that the issue will be soon sorted out.”
While Punjab is paying ₹1,500, Haryana has set the pensions at ₹2,750 per month.
In August, social welfare committee chairperson Satya Pal Jain held a meeting with UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit and requested him to expedite the pension approval.
Jain said that administrator assured him that it will be implemented soon.
RK Garg, president of the Second Innings’ Association, a senior citizens’ organisation, pointed out that the pension for senior citizens in Chandigarh is lower than all the states in north India. “Despite repeated requests for our demands, including compilation of a database of senior citizens residing in the city, a special cell for senior citizens, extension of a single-window service, smart cards and free-of-cost community centres for senior citizen organisations’ functions, nothing has been done so far,” he said.
In March, UT had written a letter to MHA regarding increasing the pension. The MHA said that the UT administration could take a decision on its own.
The pension was increased from ₹500 to ₹1,000 in 2016.
