Senior citizens in Delhi who had been facing delays in receiving financial assistance under the Old Age Pension Scheme due to technical and administrative reasons over the past several months are set to start receiving their pension payments in the coming days. Owing to sustained efforts by the Hon’ble Minister for Social Welfare, Ravinder Indraj Singh, the Department of Social Welfare has now obtained special approval from the Finance Department, thereby clearing the way for the release of long-pending pension amounts.
Following this approval, the pending old age pension payments will be released within this week. Beneficiaries who were impacted by the delay will be paid the entire outstanding pension amount in a single instalment, offering significant relief to elderly citizens who rely heavily on this financial assistance for meeting their day-to-day needs.
At present, there are more than 4.35 lakh beneficiaries enrolled under the Old Age Pension Scheme in Delhi. While pension disbursements for the majority of beneficiaries have continued on schedule without any interruption, only a section of senior citizens faced delays in recent months owing to certain administrative and technical challenges.
In this context, Hon’ble Minister Ravinder Indraj Singh has issued necessary instructions to the Department of Social Welfare to speed up the process and ensure the prompt completion of all required formalities. Beginning this week, pension payments to the remaining beneficiaries will resume, and the pending pension amounts will be directly credited into the bank accounts of all eligible senior citizens.
The Minister has also directed department officials to make the pension disbursement mechanism more transparent, efficient and accountable, with the objective of preventing the recurrence of such delays in the future. Reiterating the government’s commitment to the welfare of the elderly, he stated that ensuring the social security of senior citizens continues to be the highest priority of the department.
He further added that the Government of Delhi is fully committed to ensuring a dignified and secure life for elderly citizens. In addition to the Old Age Pension Scheme, the government is distributing high-quality assistive devices to senior citizens and is consistently working towards the establishment of new old age homes to provide better care, support and shelter for the ageing population.
