Cong tells SDMC to pay pension dues, Mayor agrees

THE OPPOSITION in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) Friday demanded that all pensions be cleared before the term of the current house ends.

Pension to those under the SDMC’S jurisdiction has not been disbursed in over 18 months. With the MCD elections due in April, the corporation has a month’s time to verify documents of its pensioners as well as disburse payments.

Conceding to the Congress’s demand after its members protested inside the well of the house, mayor Shyam Sharma directed officials to conduct verifications within a week and disburse pensions.

The Congress demanded that the SDMC release pensions for at least one year so that the beneficiaries, who depend on the amount, could be helped. The executive wing of the corporation pointed out that “as per orders of the Delhi High Court, a Delhi government official is required to sit through the verification process before payments can be made to the beneficiaries”.

However, Leader of the House Subhash Arya said that since the SDMC did not transfer its pensioners to the state government, it remains outside the purview of the order.

“The court had asked the three MCDS to submit an affidavit stating that they are not in a position to disburse pensions. North and East submitted the affidavit andwedidnot.sowhenourbeneficiaries have not been transferred, the conditions of the order should not be binding on us,” Arya said.

The opposition, however questioned why those already verified were still not being given pensions. “You are admitting that you have approximate fund of Rs 80 crore that you can utilise towardspensions.sowhyisthatnot being done?” leader of the opposition Farhad Suri asked.

He also demanded that the mayor set a date by when pensions will be disbursed.

There are 700 pensioners per councillor, amounting to a quarterly bill of Rs 21 crore for the SDMC. Officials are not convinced that the corporation is outside the High Court order. They have, however, agreed to expedite the process of verification to remove duplication or those beneficiaries who may have passed away. Suri said party members will sit on a hunger strike outside the civic headquarters if pensions are not disbursed within eight days.