Karnataka   

Over 3,500 pension applications pending

Davangere: Revenue Minister Karunakara Reddy paid a surprise visit to tahsildar’s office here on Monday and found hundreds of applications biting dust at the office. Applications for old-age pension under the Sandhya Suraksha scheme, widow pension and pension for the disabled were not disposed of though applications had been submitted long ago.

The Minister took the Tahsildar of Davangere Nagahanumaiah to task for not keeping a check on the applications received and cleared. He asked the Tahsildar as to why he had not found out the reasons for keeping the files pending. He warned him of stern action for dereliction of duty.

The Minister also questioned Assistant Commissioner Janaki for not holding regular meetings of tahsildars, deputy tahsildars, shiresthedars and village accountants. He instructed her that meetings should be held regularly. They should keep a check on the applications received and keep a tab on the pending applications and the reasons for keeping them pending.

The Minister asked the officials to be proactive and help the poor to get the benefits of various government schemes. Mr. Reddy was surprised that over 3,500 applications under the Sandhya Suraksha scheme were pending at the Tahsildar office and he was furious when the officials did not give him a satisfactory reply for not clearing the applications.

He said that the Chief Minister had introduced the scheme for the benefit of the needy persons and if pension was not disbursed, the purpose of introducing the scheme itself would be defeated. The Minister said that he had held a meeting of the Revenue Officials at Bangalore four months ago and he told them not to keep any application pending even for a week and he asked the Tahsildar whether he had taken his instructions lightly.

An aged woman Halamma from Shamanur village had approached the Minister at the Tahsildar office and complained to him that her application for widow pension was still pending since a year.

She said that she had no children and her husband had died nine years ago. She had been working as a maid servant and managing her life.

The Minister asked the officials to bring her application but the officials took nearly an hour to trace her application. He told the officials that if they took one hour to trace the application that too when the Minister asked for it, he could imagine how they responded to common people at the office. The Minister instructed the Tahsildar to give 12 months pension to Halamma from his pocket as he was directly responsible for not providing her the benefit.

The Minister asked the Assistant Commissioner Janaki and Deputy Commissioner K. Amaranarayana over telephone to frame charges against the officers for not disposing of the applications and send it to him for future course of action.

The Minister said that he had told the officials to sanction the benefits to people applying for pension for physically handicapped people as there was no need to prove their eligibility.

He said that he would set things right in the department in a month or two and he would see that eligible people would get benefits immediately after submitting the applications.

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