NO STOPPAGE OF DISBURSEMENT OF PENSION DUE TO NON-LINKING OF AADHAAR GOVERNMET
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 2997
ANSWERED ON: 05.01.2018
DISBURSEMENT OF PENSION
SADHU SINGH
Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:-
(a) whether the disbursement of Central
Government Pension to many beneficiaries have been stopped due to
non-linking of same with the Aadhaar number and if so, the details
thereof, State/UT-wise including Punjab;
(b) whether the Government proposes to
exempt beneficiary patients suffering from leprosy or any other grave
disease and hence unable to provide their biometric details and if so,
the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
(c) the other steps taken by the Government to facilitate such beneficiaries patients; and
(d) whether the Government is
considering some alternative option for such beneficiary patients and if
so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this
regard?
ANSWER
The Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance
(a) to (d): The Government has not
issued any instructions for stopping disbursement of pension to Central
Government pensioner due to non-linking of the pension account with the
Aadhaar number.
Instructions have been issued by the
Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoP&PW) from time to
time that in view of the difficulty faced by old and infirm pensioners,
banks should make concrete effort to provide the facility of obtaining
life certificate from the premises/ residence of such pensioners. The
instructions also provide that in case of sick and infirm pensioners,
personal appearance may be exempted if a life certificate in the
prescribed form signed by some specified authorities is produced on the
behalf of Pensioners.
Further, all Pension Disbursing Banks
have also been advised by DoP&PW that where the finger prints of a
pensioner are not accepted by the system, the alternate mechanism of
biometric, i.e. Iris scanning, may be used in such case. In case,
however, it is not possible to have Digital Life Certificate either
through finger prints or through Iris scanning, the physical life
certificate submitted by the pensioner may be accepted to avoid any
harassment to the pensioner. In no case a pensioner should be returned
without accepting his life certificate on account of non-acceptance of
his biometric by the system.