A pension adalat organized by the Principal Accountant General (A&E), Meghalaya, Shillong along with the state government’s Finance (Pension Cell) Department, reviewed 85 long-pending pension cases on June 19.
The pension adalat, held at the Basic Training Centre, MalkI, served as a platform for open dialogue and immediate resolution of several complex cases.
Guidance was extended to officials of the Finance Department and DDOs on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the Pension Rules effectively.
Several cases, which had remained unresolved for extended periods, were successfully cleared during the session.
The initiative aimed at addressing and resolving long-pending pension-related grievances of retired government employees in a time-bound and transparent manner.
The event was attended by Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs), pensioners, and officials responsible for pension processing.
Each case was meticulously examined on a case-to-case basis, and relevant documents were verified in the presence of concerned stakeholders.
However, it was also noted that in a few instances, despite repeated follow-ups by the Finance (Pension Cell) Department and the respective DDOs, no legitimate claimant could be located.
These cases are to be treated as closed, subject to formal approval by the Finance Department.
A key issue highlighted during the Adalat was the delay in pension settlement due to the non-submission of nomination forms by employees during their service tenure.
The absence of these crucial documents had led to avoidable complications in processing pension claims.
The Principal Accountant General has emphasized on the urgent need for preventive action and recommended that the Finance Department issue instructions to all DDOs to ensure that nomination forms are mandatorily collected from all government employees well before their retirement.
