Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 7: Anil Sharma, Independent candidate from the Nagrota Assembly Constituency and president of the All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), has strongly condemned the approach and attitude of the BJP Government at the Centre and the Omar-led UT Government in Jammu and Kashmir for their failure to ensure social welfare pensions to the vulnerable sections of society.
While addressing media persons in Jammu today, Anil said it is painful that poor and helpless people of J&K, who were earlier receiving social welfare pensions under different categories including widow, old-age, and disability pensions, have been deprived of their rightful benefits by the Lieutenant Governor’s administration in the name of document scrutiny. Their pensions were never restored even after months of delay. Instead of first guiding the people to submit the required documents, the officials stopped the pensions of poor and helpless citizens and then asked for paperwork. The rules have now become so harsh that it is almost impossible for a common person to complete all the formalities.
He also held the Omar Abdullah-led Government responsible for its silence on the plight of pensioners. “It has been over a year, yet neither the Chief Minister nor the Social Welfare Minister has uttered even a single word on this sensitive issue. The Chief Minister, on the floor of the House, spoke about increasing pensions of MLAs and ministers but remained silent on the Social Welfare pensions meant for the poorest,” Anil remarked.
Sharma assured the voters of his constituency that if given the opportunity to represent them, he would donate his entire monthly MLA salary towards paying pensions to the most deserving people of Nagrota including widows, orphans, specially-abled persons, and senior citizens. He recalled that even during his tenure as Sarpanch for two consecutive terms, he donated all his honorarium to poor families in his Panchayat Halqa — a fact verifiable from any resident of Jindrah.
He urged the Government to simplify the process of issuing disability certificates by Government hospitals. He further suggested that the age criteria for widow pensions should be removed, as there should be no minimum or maximum age limit for sanctioning this support.
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