Defense Pension Outreach Program to continue today

Ongole: The two-day awareness programme on System for Pension Administration Raksha (SPARSH) and Grievance Redressal programme for the Army, Navy and Air Force personnel was inaugurated at Dr BR Ambedkar Bhavan in Ongole on Friday. It will be continued on Saturday.

The Government of India is organising a special campaign from July 3 to 22 for the identification of pensioners under SPARSH, and redressing their grievances in 23 districts, including Prakasam district, across the country. The Controller of Defence Accounts, Chennai, in association with the Department of Sainik Welfare, and Headquarters of Telangana and Andhra Sub Area conducting the programme in Andhra Pradesh.

District Collector AS Dinesh Kumar, Controller of Defence Accounts Chennai T Jayaseelan, Director of AP Sainik Board Brig V Venkata Reddy presided over the inaugural session held on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, Collector Dinesh Kumar emphasised that pension is the right of the veterans, who have toiled very hard for the nation, and it is the duty of the government to ensure Right Pension at Right Time.

CDA, Chennai, Jayaseelan stressed the importance of coordinating the support schemes extended by the central and state governments to the veterans. He highlighted that the evolution of technology enables the one-stop solution for all pension-related grievances through the SPARSH portal.

Brig Venkata Reddy explained the difficulties faced by the service pensioners, and family pensioners, and stressed that every effort must be made to resolve the pension grievances through the SPARSH portal.

District Sainik welfare officer M Rajani Kumari explained that it is the 77th SPARSH outreach programme that is being conducted in Ongole, by the CDA Chennai. She informed that around 300 pensioners from Prakasam district attended the programme and utilised the services in the stalls that were installed for life certificate identification, SPARSH information, grievance redressal, banking information and others. She informed that the SPARSH outreach programme will be continued on Saturday also, and advised the defence pensioners to utilise the opportunity for redressal of their grievances related to the SPARSH portal.

Family pension of Venkata Subbamma, wife of late Sepoy Venkata Ramulu of Army Medical Corps, was pending from June 22, 2021. She submitted her grievance at SPARSH Outreach programme conducted in Ongole on Friday. SPARSH team had taken up the issue with PCDA (P) Allahabad representatives, who attended the programme. The issue was resolved and the family pension PPO has been notified on the same day. An arrear amount of around Rs 3.54 lakhs will be released to the family pensioner’s bank account.