Sir,

Some time ago, I went to the Kurji Ghat to meet the people affected by the flood. Over there I met different people who had been shifted from Bin Tola to an under-construction apartment block at Kurji Ghat because of the flood. They were in very bad condition. They informed me that they were getting food once a day.

Over there I also got to know that in Bin Tola of Patna District, Bihar the senior citizens have been waiting for their pensions for over a year now.  

Where does the pension amount disappear? Why are they not receiving it? How much time will it take to reach them? These are the questions that to be answered.

This Indra Gandhi National Old age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) covers all Indians who are of 60 years and above and live below the poverty line. The scheme is a part the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) that was launched by the Ministry of the Rural Development in August 1995 to support the old age Indian people.

All IGNOAPS beneficiaries aged 60–79 receive a monthly pension of Rs. 200 and those 80 years and above receive a monthly pension amount of Rs. 500.

To increase the transparency and accountability in the implementation of the scheme. This amount of pension payable to each individual goes directly into their account either in a Post Office or in a commercial bank.

Sulaxmi Devi, a senior citizen living Bin Tola is a widow of Vishwanath Chaudhary. She lives with her son. she said, she has her  accounts for the payment of her pension but since the past year she did not receive the pension amount. She got her last pension in 2015.

So even after taking steps for transparency in the implementation of scheme, this scheme is not being implemented.

Yours truly,

Seema Kumari, BMC Dept. St Xavier’s college of Mgmt & Tech, Digha

  letters, old age pension