18,157 Cases Resolved So Far In Pension Adalat: What These Adalats Are And Who They Are For

Pension Adalat was introduced by the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) in 2017, for all government departments and ministries to provide faster resolution to central government pensioners’ long-pending issues.

Until now, 12 such Aalats have been held and of the total 25,416 cases, 71 per cent (18,157) have been resolved. In the 12th Adalat, a total of 192 cases were taken up, of which 151 cases were resolved on the spot, according to a statement by the Ministry of Personnel, reported PTI.

The cases resolved belonged to different issues. A few of the cases include leave encashment denial to a retired associate professor due to some administration work pendency, denial of family pension to a beneficiary for 20 years due to a dispute about succession certificate, a pending revision of the 7th pay commission increments in pension since 2016, and providing a family pensioner the entitled extraordinary family pension which was pending for last 19 years. These cases were resolved on the spot to provide relief to the aggrieved pensioners. 

Also Read: Are ULPP Enough To Help In Retirement Planning? 

Pension is one of the main attractions for people to get into government jobs. The financial security it provides is the source of peace of mind in old age. However, when an issue arises in getting this promised payment after retirement, the faith in the system dwindles.

Although, the government has a grievance portal in place on which pensioners can raise their grievances online. The portal ‘Centralised Pension Grievances Redress and Monitoring System (CPENGRAMS)’ provides pensioners a facility to make complaints online. Yet, some remain unresolved, for which one can approach Pension Adalats.

Also Read: UPI Transaction Changes To Take Place From February 15; What Is The New Chargeback Rule 

What Are Pension Adalats And Who Are These For?

Pension Adalats have been held in some departments like railways, defence, and posts for more than a decade. In 2017, these were introduced for other departments as well for a faster resolution of pension-related matters saving pensioners from litigation and getting quick relief.

According to a DoPPW office memorandum dated March 25, 2011, “The intention of conducting Pension Adalats is to look into the grievances of Pensioners so as to redress the same by taking on-the-spot decision thereby reducing the delays, if any, in the settlement of their legitimate dues. This kind of interaction with the Pensioners would instill in them a sense of being cared for and attended to, thus, dispelling their feelings of isolation and neglect”.

Also Read: Health Insurers Paid 268.59 Lakh Claims In FY 2023-24; Know What Irdai Is Doing To Fix Settlement Woes 

How To Take Benefit Of Pension Adalat?

These Adalats are usually held twice a year, around January and July. Venue and date are fixed by the concerned department every time and are notified through various media platforms, including newspapers and other media. The venue, date, time, and name of the officer are published at least four months in advance of the holding of the adalat. Aggrieved pensioners can submit their issues within 90 days from the notification issuance date.

These Adalats are for central government pensioners for their pension-related issues.

This is a single platform where concerned ministries, departments, the Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO), and banks come together for an on-the-spot resolution of long pending pension matters.  

From 2017 to mid 2024, 10 pension Adalats were held in which 24926 cases were heard and 17760 were resolved.