Chennai: Pension Administration System-Defence (SPARSH) vehicles reached Chennai after travelling 1,700 km across 30 districts of Tamil Nadu as part of the grievance redressal initiative. These camps were organised from July 1 to 10 at various places such as Collector’s Office, Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association and villages where a large number of defence pensioners reside. “More than 5,100 pensioners participated in these camps and their grievances were attended to promptly,” Controller of Defence Accounts T Jayaseelan told media persons during the closing ceremony on Friday. “Grievances of about 2,100 pensioners were resolved promptly and pension orders and life certificates were issued to them. The remaining applications will be resolved within a month,” he added.
On June 30, Union Minister of State L Murugan inaugurated this camp in Tiruchi. He further added, “For the first time in the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS India), SPARSH pension service vehicles were implemented in Tamil Nadu to visit the pensioners at their homes and resolve their grievances.” In Tiruchi, 14 people were given cash benefits of over Rs 1 crore. “This is the first time in India that such a large number of pensioners’ grievances have been resolved. The plan is to extend it across India. The next step is to hold a grievance redressal meeting in Madurai in November. And 10% of the pensioners in Tamil Nadu are still not receiving their pension,” said Jayaseelan. Over 300 pensioners and 200 employees of the Controller of Defence Accounts, Chennai, attended the closing ceremony held in the city.
