Following HC order, Delhi govt holds pension camps

“The work on the street is a continuation of the work on the wall. Holi is a festival that celebrates friendship. I have created this work with the friends I have always played Holi with. It felt like we were playing Holi while making it,” says Kureshi, who has titled the work “Holi Rangoli by Hanif Kureshi and Friends”. The work is temporary and will only last a few days.

Text by Somya Lakhani; Photo by Praveen Khanna FOLLOWING A recent High Court order directing both the government and the MCDS to publicise pension schemes for the elderly and the disabled, the Delhi government’s social welfare department is holding pension camps on March 4 and 5.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “Those who are not getting pension from the MCDS can visit the two district offices of the department. Pensioners should carry either their voter ID card, Aadhaar card or passport for verification.”

However, the Bjp-ruled civic bodies said this is a political move by AAP to shift pensioners to its camp ahead of the civic polls next month.

Ravinder Gupta, former North corporation mayor, said, “This is pure politics. We have approximately 2 lakh pensioners. We have never stopped giving pensions. The disbursal is on hold as the Delhi government has not given us the funds. We even told the CM to centralise disbursal of pensions so that people don’t suffer in the fight between the government and the MCDS. But all they could think of is politics.”

According to sources, the government has asked MCD officials, involved in disbursing pensions, to give them a list so that they can start the verification process.