MARGAO
Hazard a guess why is the government dilly-dallying in restoring the monthly pension for the retired seafarers and widows when beneficiaries entitled for doles under the Social Welfare department continue to enjoy the social welfare benefits?
Inquiries by The Goan has revealed that the Finance department has put up a remark on the pension file that the government will take a call on restarting the pension for the retired seafarers only after the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic recedes.
NRI Director, Anthony D’Souza, when contacted, informed that though the government had initially given the administrative approval for restarting the pension scheme for a period of three months, the Finance department has put a remark on the file stating the scheme will restart after the Covid pandemic recedes.
Sources said the Finance department’s remark only implies that the pension will not restart immediately as the Covid situation is unlikely to recede in the near future considering the ground reality, when cases are on the rise with each passing day.
Incidentally, while the Covid-19 pandemic had started raising its ugly head in the State from March this year, questions are being raised whether there’s no political will on the part of the government to restart the pension for the retired seafarers and the widows.
For, it’s now exactly a year since the pension scheme for the retired seafarer and widows was scrapped by the Pramod Sawant-led government on the plea that the scheme introduced by former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was to continue for a specified period.
In fact, the retired seafarers and leaders of seamen’s associations have been running from pillar to post since the last one year, knocking the doors of the powers that be, but in vain.
Hopes were raised around two months ago when a delegation of retired seafarers had called on Deputy Chief Minister, Chandrakant Kavlekar and Fisheries Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues at the South Goa district Collector with a plea to restart the pension. While both Kavlekar and Filipe Neri had assured the delegation that they will take up the matter with the
Chief Minister, terming the demand for pension as genuine, the ground reality, however, remains unchanged.
Sources in the know informed that while the government has not yet said a firm no to restart the pension, the government has so far initiated only half-hearted measures to restore the pension, as a result of which the seafarers and the widows have been left high and dry.
Otherwise, consider this. After the office of NRI Commissioner sent the pension file to the Department of Social Welfare to disburse the pensionary benefits to the retired seafarers and widows, the file stays put in the Social Welfare department for quite some time, before it was returned back to the office of NRI Commissioner for implementation.
