Several old age pensioners running from pillar to post for dues

BENGALURU: Hundreds of senior citizens in Bengaluru are struggling to receive their old-age pensions due to the non-linkage of Aadhaar with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Many beneficiaries, anxious about being removed from the scheme, are doing the rounds of post offices, banks and tahsildar offices daily.

The government offers various pensions, including old-age, widow, disability, and Sandhya Suraksha. However, beneficiaries haven’t received payments for five months, prompting them to repeatedly check their passbooks and run from pillar to post.

Pensioners will get Rs 1,200 under the Sandhya Suraksha scheme, Rs 600 under the Mythri scheme. The disability pension amounts are Rs 800 for 45 per cent disability, Rs 1,400 for 75 per cent  disability, and Rs 2,000 for mental disability.

The Indira Gandhi National Pension Scheme provides Rs 600 per month to individuals aged 64-65 and Rs 1,200 per month to those above 65. Other pension amounts include Rs 600 for Manaswini, Rs 800 for widow pension, and Rs 2,000 for farmer suicide victims.

The department has repeatedly requested beneficiaries to link their Aadhaar for e-KYC, but many haven’t done so due to lack of information. As a result, these beneficiaries are no longer receiving their monthly pensions. To address this issue, staff from the pension department at Bengaluru’s North Taluk office are directly calling beneficiaries to provide guidance on the matter.