Bhubaneswar: Odisha government will clear pension dues of beneficiaries who have not received their old-age pension due to technical glitches by October, state minister Nityananda Gond said Friday.
In a written statement to the Assembly, Gond said 20.33 lakh beneficiaries are covered under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS).
“The government is aware that, due to various technical glitches, some of these beneficiaries have not received their pension payments for the past five months,” Gond, the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities minister, said.
The state government is taking steps in coordination with the finance department, the Central government, and the treasury to address the issue, he said.
Steps are being taken to ensure that beneficiaries who have not received their pensions get the pending payments along with arrears by October, the minister said.
The issue of non-payment of social security pensions to elderly beneficiaries for several months had earlier been raised by the Opposition BJD and Congress.
The state government provides a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 to senior citizens aged 60 to 79 and Rs 3,500 to those aged 80 and above.
PTI
