MARGAO
Retired seafarers and their widows have a question or two for Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and NRI Affairs Commissioner, Narendra Sawaikar “ why have they have not received their monthly pension for the last five months when the government had extended the pension scheme for a year?
Every time the office of the NRI office is approached by the beleaguered retired seafarers and the widows, they are only given a promise that they will get the pension arrears from December 2021. That’s not all. The NRI office has even handed out an assurance to the pensioners that they will get the pension of all the months, since December once certain procedures are complied with.
What has raised concern amongst the beneficiaries, including the retired seafarers and the widows is that the NRI Affairs Office has been assuring them that there’s no problem concerning funds and that the delay in disbursing the pension lies with some procedures.
Incidentally, the seafaring community has been demanding a permanent pension scheme for the retired seafarers’ widows, but in vain. When the validity of the pension scheme had expired in November last, the government had extended it for a period of one year, only throwing up questions why the government is not coming out with a permanent pension scheme for the seafarers.
Seafarers have also been questioning why the applications submitted by newly retired seafarers, besides widows have not been processed. “The scheme envisages pension for seafarers after retirement, but applications submitted by many a seafarer have still not been processed yet”, sources said.
Meanwhile, the Goan Seamen Association of India (GSAI), who had taken up cudgels for the seafaring community has said it has been constantly following up on the pension.
“The scheme which is valid up to November 2022 needs to be streamlined without putting any burden on the beneficiaries and by also considering new applicants,” GSAI president Frank Viegas stated.
He said some of the elected representatives of the Goa legislative assembly have shown their concern regarding the scheme before the elections, but lamented that the issue does not figure on their agenda.
“GSAI would continue its efforts to follow up so that the seafarers will benefit from it. The NRI director assured us that they will clear the amount in the first week of May,” he said.
