Jammu Mayor raises pension issue of widows, physically challenged & old age persons before LG

Sinha directs Commissioner Secretary SWD to resolve issue by Tuesday, hails Mayor for public friendly activities

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: Jammu Mayor, Rajinder Sharma led a delegation to meet J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in Srinagar demanding removal of complicacies for physically challenged persons, widows and old age persons in getting pension.
Deputy Mayor, Baldev Singh Billawaria, Chairmen of JMC Standing Committees-Subash Sharma and Arun Khanna, Councillors-Surjeet Chowdhary, Jaideep Sharma, Kapil Chib, Ashok Manhas and Anil Kumar also accompanied the Mayor in the delegation.
In half an hour meeting, the Mayor brought miserable condition of widows, old age people and physically challenged persons into the notice of LG and said that the Social Welfare Department has now made the documentation process for pension very tough.
“Suppose if there are two brothers in a singly ration card-one poor and the other well off and their bifurcation of Ration Card is not being done then how can the poor one have pension,” the Mayor Sharma said adding: “Similarly, if a lady from middle class family has a house and small children and becomes a widow, then how will she survive as she has no PHH Ration Card which the authorities concerned have now made a precondition for getting pension.”
He further said that PHH Ration Card is not being issued on the conditions written in the form itself. He said as few of the conditions are first if the applicant is widow and have irregular family income and second if the applicant have no regular income, in both the cases applicants are entitled for PHH ration card. But still they are running from pillar to post. He futher said as per data in the last two months DC Jammu has only made 70 PHH Ration Cards while the persons in need of pension are 1 lakh 20,000.
“When such is a pace it will take a lot of time while there are 26,000 pension cases only in JMC jurisdiction,” Mayor Sharma continued.
He said that there are chances that some needy people may die in wait for pension and some old age people being bedridden are not able to move out for visiting offices to get the PHH Ration Card.
“When many old people do not know how to read and write, then how can they move from pillar to post for fulfilling such documentary formalities,” Sharma said.
The Mayor requested the LG that being a burning issue this needs immediate redressal.
The LG in turn issued on spot instructions to the Commissioner Secretary Social Welfare Department, Sheetal Nanda and asked her to talk to Mayor and come up with solution of the issue by Tuesday on priority basis so that the poor and needy people may not suffer anymore.
The LG also appreciated the Mayor for raising the issue of public interest and asked him to continue the public friendly activities for the welfare of the public at large.