NEW DELHI: The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) will take up more than 800 long-pending grievances of super-senior pensioners and family pensioners at the Pension Adalat in the national capital on Monday.
Introduced in 2017, the Pension Adalat has emerged as an innovative initiative of the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) for the on-the-spot redressal of grievances faced by Central Government pensioners.
As part of the continuing initiative, the department will conduct the 17th Pension Adalat under the chairmanship of MoS (PP), Dr Jitendra Singh, here on Monday.
According to an official statement shared with this newspaper, the Pension Adalat provides a common platform for all stakeholders associated with a particular grievance to come together and resolve long-pending pension-related issues. The initiative operates in the spirit of a “Whole-of-Government Approach”.
“It also helps eliminate the need for expensive and time-consuming court proceedings, thereby offering an efficient and cost-effective grievance redressal mechanism. It is a commitment of the central government to reduce litigation,” said an official in a statement on Sunday.
The official further said that with a success rate of 71.79%, the Pension Adalat initiative has demonstrated its effectiveness in resolving complicated and long-pending pension grievances.
Across its previous 16 editions, the initiative has resolved 20,676 of the 28,797 grievances on the spot.
“As it has emerged as an efficient and effective mechanism for resolving complicated and long-pending pension grievances, the success rate of 71.79%, the Pension Adalat initiative has demonstrated its utility by resolving 20,676 out of a total of 28,797 grievances on the spot across its previous 16 editions,” added an official.
The department also said that the remaining cases were subsequently redressed through inter-ministerial review meetings conducted by DoPPW following the respective Pension Adalats.
Official sources said 897 pension-related grievances filed on the CPENGRAM Portal by super-senior pensioners and family pensioners and pertaining to 24 ministries and departments would be taken up during the 17th Pension Adalat on Monday.
The department’s official statement further said on Sunday that super-senior pensioners, family pensioners and their relatives from across the country would participate in the proceedings through a hybrid mode. Complainants have been given the option to attend the Pension Adalat either physically or through video conferencing.
During the proceedings, MoS (PP) Dr Jitendra Singh will also release flyers showcasing success stories from the 16th Pension Adalat, which was held on May 13 this year. The department will also release a booklet containing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on issues concerning family pensioners during the Pension Adalat.