Pending Cases of Family Pensioners in Indian Railway Pension Adalats: BPS writes to DoP&PW

Pending Cases of Family Pensioners in Indian Railway Pension Adalats: BPS writes to DoP&PW

BHARAT PENSIONERS SAMAJ
(All India Federation of Pensioners” Associations)
2/13-A – LGF Backside, Jangpura – ‘A’, New Delhi- 110014

No BPS/SG/Rly FP/024 /01

Dated 5.7.2024

To
The Secretary,
Government of India
M/O Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare

Subject: Pending Cases of Family Pensioners in Indian Railway Pension Adalats

Reference: Special Campaign for Redressal of Family Pensioners’ Grievances

Sir,
I am writing to you on behalf of Bharat Pensioners Samaj (BPS) to highlight numerous unresolved cases of family pensioners and secondary family pension claimants pending in the Railway Pension Adalats at various levels. BPS respectfully requests your esteemed office to urge the Railway administration to initiate a special campaign similar to the Special Campaign for Redressal of Family Pensioners’ Grievances launched by DOP&PW under your leadership.

The proposed Special Campaign should encompass all grievances related to Family Pension and Secondary Family Pension submitted to Pension Adalats, as well as those registered with Divisional and Zonal authorities, rather than being confined solely to CPENGRAMS-registered complaints.

Outlined below are several causes of delay:

1. Unnecessary Documentation Requirements: Railway authorities are demanding irrelevant or obsolete documents, such as No Objection Certificates from non-eligible siblings, causing significant hardship and familial discord, requiring the death certificate of a previous family pensioner even when there is no previous family pensioner. Additionally, the non-return of old PPOs (Pension Payment Orders) by banks leads to undue delays. For example, in the case of Late Sri Narayana Das (PPO 2008732070080) in NCR, a delay of over a year occurred due to the non-return of the original PPO. It was only after complaints from our affiliate PAR Secunderabad that the original PPO was returned, and Secondary Family Pension was granted to the widowed daughter.
2. Non-Acceptance of Thesildar’s Income Certificate: Authorities often reject income certificates issued by Thesildars, as well as Income Tax Returns (ITR), further delaying the process.
3. Unnecessary Inquiries by Welfare Inspectors: Even after all necessary documents are submitted, several divisions order inquiries by Welfare Inspectors, who sometimes exploit the applicants.

Moreover, Secondary Family Pension is being unjustly denied on various grounds such as the widow/ unmarried daughter being young and capable of remarrying, being educated and employable, or being over 25 years of age.

To address these issues, we suggest the following measures:

1. Streamline Rules: Ensure uniformity and equality in the application of rules.
2. Serial Registration and Monthly Review: Cases should be registered serially, date-wise, and reviewed monthly by Divisional and Zonal Nodal Officers (ADRM/AGM in Railways) to prioritize the oldest registered cases. This should be monitored at the national level by the concerned depart-ment, similar to the practices in Negotiating Forums of PNMs.

We earnestly hope that these suggestions will be considered and implemented to expedite the resolution of pending family pension cases.

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter.

With regards,

Truly yours,

(S.C. Maheshwari)
Secretary General
Bharat Pensioners Samaj