Bihar Sets Monthly Deadline To Ensure Timely Old-Age Pension Transfers, Orders Accountability For Delays

The Bihar Social Welfare Department has placed the Old-Age Pension Scheme on its priority list, setting a target to ensure that beneficiaries receive their monthly pension by the 10th of every month. Officials have been instructed that any delay in fund transfer at the district level will lead to accountability being fixed.

Ahead of the elections, the state government had increased the pension amount from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar personally disbursing the enhanced pension through DBT on two occasions. 

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Since then, the number of applicants for the scheme has been rising steadily. According to departmental data, 1.13 crore beneficiaries are currently receiving Rs 1,100 per month under the scheme.

The Social Welfare Department will now monitor, at the headquarters level, the number of applications received from each district and the pace at which they are processed. Regular reports are being compiled for high-level review.

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Before the elections, the Chief Minister had directed officials to restart pensions for those whose payments had been stopped, particularly in cases where elderly beneficiaries’ fingerprints could not be verified. To address this, the department is preparing to organise verification camps to re-verify such cases and resume payments. District-level officials have been assigned the responsibility for this task.