Agartala, July 10: Tripura Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Tinku Roy on Friday assured beneficiaries that pending social pension dues under various Central Government-funded schemes for April, May and June will be credited within this week, following delays caused by the rollout of a new payment mechanism.
Addressing the media, Roy said the delay has affected only the four Central Government-sponsored pension schemes, including old-age pension, widow pension, disability pension and benefits for Antyodaya/BPL households.
He clarified that there has been no disruption in the 30 State-funded pension schemes administered by the department, which continue to be disbursed during the first week of every month as per schedule.
Explaining the reason behind the delay, the Minister said the Centre has introduced a new SNS-POS payment system, replacing the earlier mechanism under which the Central Government transferred its share of pension funds to the State. The State Government would then add its contribution to ensure that each beneficiary received the total monthly pension of Rs 2,000 before releasing the amount.
Under the new arrangement, however, the Central Government directly deposits its share into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts, while the State Government transfers its contribution separately. According to Roy, synchronising these two payment streams has taken time, resulting in the temporary backlog.
“The transition to the new system has caused some delay, but the issue is being resolved. Beneficiaries will receive their pending dues within this week,” the Minister said.
Roy informed that the department has already completed a successful trial run involving around 100 beneficiaries to test the new payment process. Details of the remaining beneficiaries have been forwarded to the Central Government for processing.
He said beneficiaries are expected to receive two months’ pension together during this week, while efforts are underway to clear the remaining dues and ensure that future payments are made without interruption.
Officials of the Social Welfare Department said the new SNS-POS system has been introduced to improve transparency, efficiency and direct benefit transfer in pension disbursement. Although the transition has temporarily inconvenienced beneficiaries, the revised system is expected to streamline payments in the long run.
The Minister’s assurance is likely to provide relief to thousands of elderly persons, widows, differently-abled beneficiaries and economically weaker families across Tripura who have been awaiting their pension payments for the past three months.
