Old age pension: Scheme prima facie ‘good’, but huge gaps in implementation: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), which deals with pensions for elderly and other issues, was “prima facie” a good scheme but there were “huge gaps” in its implementation which needed to be filled.

A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said that the Centre must have a machinery to implement the scheme so that it could be known as to which authorities were doing their job properly.

The court’s observation came even as the Centre said that it “cannot go beyond” giving Rs 200 per month as pension to elderly persons at this point.

When Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, who was appearing for the Centre, referred to NSAP, the bench observed, “You have a scheme. Prima facie it is a good scheme. It has to be implemented and for that you have to have a machinery”.

The ASG told the court that NSAP comprises of Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme, Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme, National Family Benefit Scheme and Annapurna scheme. (AGENCIES)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here