When Should Pension Grievance Be Disposed Of? Understanding The Appellate Mechanism

If a pension does not commence after retirement or an error occurs in calculating the pension amount, one can lodge a grievance on the Centralised Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring (CPGRAM) portal. These grievances need to be settled within the timelines set by the government. Recently, the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoP&PW) issued an office memorandum (OM), reiterating the guidelines for “sensitive, accessible and meaningful redressal of Central Government Pensioners’ grievances on CPENGRAMS Portal”.

The DoPPW, which works under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, acknowledged that while the average time for grievance redressal has reduced and pensioners’ satisfaction level has improved, these guidelines are issued for further enhancing the services.

How Does The CPENGRAM System Work?

CPENGRAM is an online portal on which pensioners can raise issues related to various central government ministries, departments, and organisations. Once they lodge the complaint, it is forwarded to the relevant department or ministry, which then sends it to the designated officer within that department or ministry for resolution. An acknowledgement of the complaint is given immediately, and the maximum time period for redressal is 60 days.

However, if the redressal is not satisfactory, the applicant (complainant) can appeal against it within 30 days of the redressal. The Appellant Authority is mandated to dispose of the appeal within 30 days by passing a ‘speaking order’ and attaching the required documents.  

Appellate Mechanism

The OM explains the Appellate mechanism, and that the appeals should be disposed of within 30 days from the date of receiving the grievance. In case of delay, it should be justified and monitored by he authorities.    

Further, the Appellate authority is mandated to independently examine the appeal and avoid endorsing the views of the Grievance Redressal Officer (GRO) or to issue directions to GROs or other authorities regarding it.

In addition to it, each appeal must be disposed of through a speaking order and clearly outline the facts of the case in brief, the issue, and the rationale behind the decision to ensure transparency and accountability.

The disposal of grievances and pendency of appeals in CPENGRAMS should be monitored by the concerned departments, ministries, and organisations periodically for a timely and qualitative disposal.  

Qualitative And Expeditious Redressal

In another OM on the same day, DoPPW elaborates on two aspects to enhance the services: the quality of redressal and how expeditiously they are dealt with.

The guidelines overhaul the initial grievances handling process. For grievances, which are monetary in nature, it clarifies that they cannot be closed until the payment is made to the pensioner. To ensure it happens, the Action Taken report (ATR) should include the proof of payment, as well as a calculation sheet when required.

The officials must take the pensioners’ details either directly from the portal or via post or email. A timeline should also be provided in all communications for compliance by the complainant, and a request letter must be attached to the portal.

The guidelines also talk about the inter-organisational coordination when the matter involves multiple stakeholders. In that case, the complaint should be forwarded from one office to the other on the portal, along with sending a physical file.

For speedy redressal and to reduce unnecessary file movement, the guidelines suggest following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) or the checklists to avoid seeking “piecemeal and irrelevant information”. The nodal officers should regularly check the CPENGRAM portal to avoid prolonged parking and pendency of matters with a particular GRO.

The reiteration of guidelines for faster and quality redressal of CPENGRAM portal grievances is aimed at making the pension payment and grievance redressal system more efficient and transparent.