MARGAO
Submission of life certificate is a condition for retired seafarers and widows to receive pension under the Goa Welfare/Pension Scheme for Seafarers re-launched by the government with effect from July 2021.
Director, NRI Anthony D’Souza said the life certificate is required to be certified by a Gazetted officer.
In fact, he said the beneficiaries can even WhatsApp the life certificate to him or his office if the beneficiaries cannot post it online or hand it over to the NRI office personally. “In times of Covid Pandemic, we have decided to accept even if the life certificate is sent via the WhatsApp. The pension scheme for the seafarers entails complying with certain procedures, including sending a Life certificate certified by a Gazette Officer”, he said, adding that the document can even be certified by a bank manager.
There are around 2500 beneficiaries, including seafarers and widows, who were drawing pension under the Goa Pension scheme before it was discontinued in October 2019. Of these 2500 beneficiaries, around 1800 were drawing pension of Rs 500 since they were drawing pension from other government schemes.
D’Souza said these 2500 beneficiaries can receive the pension once they submit their life certificates, adding that the scheme also has a provision for new registration for pensions.
Sources in the know informed that the Office of NRI Commissioner has opened a new bank account with the State Bank of India to disburse the pension amount to the seafarers.
Meanwhile, social group ‘Citizens for Democracy’ has accused the government of being unfair to the seafarers’ community by coming out with a limited duration scheme of a mere six months that could neither be categorised as welfare nor pension scheme.
Speaking on behalf of the group, former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes said that the scheme appeared more to be a political move of the BJP for some possible electoral gains and asked the chief minister not play with the sentiments of the seafarers whose contribution to the state’s economy has been immense.
In a letter to the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar, Gomes said that they should understand the woes of seafarers and come out with a well formulated scheme that will be of genuine assistance to them rather than a limited six months one that will be ending even before the elaborate requirements of the prescribed documents are fulfilled. Gomes also raised questions about the abrupt discontinuation of the earlier scheme in October 2019 which he said had left many beneficiaries in the lurch although the financial outgo on the same was minimal.
PLEA TO MAKE THE SCHEME PERMANENT
MARGAO: Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourneco has urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to amend the Home department’s notification on the pension scheme for the retired seafarers and widows to make the scheme permanent for the benefit of the seafaring community.
In a letter, Reginaldo drew attention of the Chief Minister to the fact that the validity of the notification is valid only for six months 1st June 2021 and it shall remain in force up to 30th November, 2021, saying “It is not at all fair as it makes mockery of our seamen and their widows”.
While complimenting the Chief Minister for taking up the issue of issue of welfare pension scheme of the seafarers/widows on International Day of the Seafarers, the three-time Congress MLA requested the Chief Minister to consider the request of Goan Seamen Association of India that all eligible seamen/widows should be paid all their due arrears from October 2019 the day since the pension was stopped or in the alternative implement the scheme w.e.f January 2021 so they receive their due pension/arrears.
