Pension of living woman stopped by declaring her dead without verification. photo awakening
Communication partner, Jamui. On one hand, the Bihar government is increasing the social security pension from Rs 400 to Rs 1100, so that the elderly can get the 'stick of old age', while on the other hand, due to unbridled bureaucracy and departmental negligence, living persons are being declared 'dead'.
Elderly Ahilya Devi of Hathiya Panchayat of Jhajha block has to face this situation. They have to make rounds of government offices to get proof of their existence.
The insensitivity of the system is such that after declaring him dead on paper, his pension has been stopped. Ahilya Devi told that the pension amount has not come into her account for the last several months.
When he went to the cyber café to get information, he came to know that he had been declared 'dead' in the government records. This is not just a technical mistake, but a cruel joke on the part of the administration towards the poor and helpless elderly.
This matter has raised serious questions on the departmental working style. It is necessary to know on what basis and on the report of which worker a living woman was considered dead.
The negligence of personnel registering deaths without physical verification has not only deprived an eligible beneficiary of his entitlement but has also affected the credibility of government schemes. Now there is a need for a high level investigation into this matter, so that in future no elderly person should roam around carrying a placard of 'I am alive...'.