80-year-old awaits pension for 4 years

Mumbai: Shanti Singh, 80, has been awaiting her husband’s pension for four years now. She had been receiving it in a steady stream since 2008, when her husband, Rambali Singh died after completing almost 30 years as a teacher in municipal schools in Mumbai. When Covid struck, the pension of around ₹16,000 stopped, as the BMC requested a life certificate.
But all attempts to submit the life certificate and other documents asked for went in vain, as the pension is yet to restart.
“In these years, I’ve repeatedly been in correspondence with the BMC. I must have sent them my mother’s documents ten times, to no avail,” said her worried son, Arun Singh, 57. “In November 2023, there was even a video call done for verification with my mother, but even after that, there has been no response.”
Arun’s father worked in multiple municipal schools in Mumbai, lastly settling in Andheri East till his retirement in 1993, after joining service in 1958. After his retirement, the couple moved back to their hometown village in Uttar Pradesh, Ramnagar. “As I have two brothers and two sisters, we’ve been able to manage the financial expenses despite the difficulty. But my mother has knee problems, and her medicines cost her ₹6,000 a month.”
A letter from the BMC dated March 2024, listed the reason for the discontinuation of the pension as an incomplete indemnity bond. But Singh furnished a letter written to the BMC as early as 2022, with a life certificate and indemnity bond attached. “As I have now got in touch with the MP Poonam Mahajan and pressure is mounting on the BMC, they are claiming our documents are missing. But I’ve been in touch with them all these four years, and repeatedly sent them the documents they’ve asked for. The life certificate has also been submitted to the bank. Why weren’t we told this before?”
An official from the BMC said the Singh’s pension file was missing the life certificate and other documents, but it was being looked into.