Delay in Payment of Social Security Pensions by Government of Karnataka

Publication: The Times Of India Bangalore; Date: Jun 19, 2010; Section: Times City; Page: 5 

TREASURY OF ILLS? TROUBLE IN PENSIONERS’ PARADISE Treasury Dept Stinks Pensions Pending For 6 Months Officials Blame Erratic Power Supply Nirmala M Nagaraj | TNN 

Bangalore: The Global Investors’ Meet may have raked in a grand Rs 3 lakh crore (if only on paper) from investors across the globe, but the state of the state treasury department, the repository of wealth and centre of all monetary transactions, is simply poor. 

    A visit to the Bangalore District Urban treasury office at MySugar building on JC Road reveals its true status — old, broken furniture dumped in a corner, torn window curtains, papers and files scattered amid dust and to top it, an unbearable toilet stench. Sadly, state treasury officers work amid these pathetic conditions. With this working environment, it comes as no surprise that it has affected the overall functioning of the government machinery. If local economic requirements are not being met, what will happen to global ones? 

AGED WAIT FOR PENSION 
Something as fundamental as pension has been delayed for more than six months by the inefficient treasury department. Widow pension, old age pension and pension allocated to the physically handicapped are waiting to be disbursed for more than six months now. Officials blame it on the shortage of power supply. “Without power, we can’t operate computers and this has affected data entry and regular disbursal of pension, as well as adding new pension beneficiaries. Because of this, widows’ pension has been delayed but we will pay them arrears from the date of notification of sanctioning pension,” said Lakshmi, a treasury officer.