By Paritosh Chakma
Published in Merinews.com,
10 December 2011
ON DECEMBER 9 2011,
Mizoram’s well known voluntary organisation, the Mizoram Chakma Development
Forum (MCDF) claimed that Old Age Pension has not been paid in the entire state
of Mizoram for the last nine months, since March 2011 and has sought the
personal intervention of Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla for payment of
Old Age Pension to all the beneficiaries before the Christmas.
In the petition the MCDF
stated that as per the Supreme Court order dated 28th November 2001, payment of
the pension under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension (IGNOAPS) Scheme
shall be made before seventh day of every month and that Central grants meant
for the IGNOAPS cannot be diverted for any other purposes as per the direction
of the Supreme Court of 27 April 2004. But old age pension has not been paid in
the entire state of Mizoram for the last nine months since March 2011 which is
direct and blatant violation of the directions of the Supreme Court.
Due to the inordinate
delay in the payment of the old age pension, the beneficiaries in the entire
state have been sufferings and the State cannot be a silent spectator to their
hardships, MCDF stated.
According to Mizoram Upa
Pawl (Senior Citizens’ Association) of Mizoram, there are 23,547 beneficiaries
of old age pension scheme.
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