LoP calls on govt to accept new applications for old age pensions

New Delhi: Vijender Gupta, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, has called on the Delhi government to accept new applications for old age pensions, highlighting a significant backlog that has persisted for seven years. In a recent letter to the minister of Social Welfare, Gupta expressed his dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the pension scheme, urging immediate action to support the city’s elderly population.

Gupta emphasised the urgency of the situation, stating, “The government must accept new applications to fill the 80,000 vacant slots in the pension scheme. It is unjust that so many elderly citizens are left without support.” Currently, Delhi’s old age pension scheme has a cap of 530,000 beneficiaries, which Gupta argues has not been revised in the past seven years. As a result, around 500,000 applications remain pending, while 80,000 slots are currently unoccupied due to the death or relocation of elderly individuals.

Under the existing scheme, senior citizens over the age of 70 receive a monthly pension of Rs 2,500, while those below 70 get Rs 2,000. Gupta criticised the government’s rationale for not accepting new applications, stating that the Department of Social Welfare informed him that the current beneficiary cap has been reached, and any changes would require a Cabinet decision.

Gupta has repeatedly raised this issue in Assembly sessions, including a notable mention on September 27, 2024. “I will not tolerate the government’s arbitrary actions,” he declared. He warned the Aam Aadmi Party government that if his demands are not addressed within 24 hours, the BJP legislative group, along with the elderly, would stage protests across Delhi.