Telangana: Veterans need to take documentation seriously

Hyderabad: Families of former servicemen who have not updated their documents with the Sainik Welfare Board are having to pursue the case of their pensions for years with the state and Central governments.

People in the defence forces retire young. In many cases, the names of their wife and children are not updated in the documents. In case the ex-serviceman dies, their families end up without documentation to get the pension.

In the case of women, it is difficult for them to prove their relation with the deceased ex-servicemen unless they have a marriage certificate. The names of children are also not updated due to which it becomes difficult to provide then reservation in education and in scholarships.

Col. P. Ramesh Kumar, from the Sainik Welfare Board said ex-servicemen are provided with identity cards immediately after retirement, when they provide documents.

It is also seen that there are discrepancies such as spelling mistakes in the names of the dependents, due to which they face severe hardship when securing family pension. In some cases, their names do not match with those on the Aadhaar card or PAN card, he said.

Besides, ex-servicemen open a single account, which is mentioned in the Pension Payment Order. They open a joint account but this is not mentioned, and it lapses after six months. Even in these cases, their families are deprived of pension in case of their death.