Hyderabad: Lavanya Reddy, widow of Gunner Ramana Reddy, finally received her family pension notwithstanding an arduous wait of 18 years.
Ramana Reddy, who served in the Artillery Regiment, was discharged from the Army in 1991 and passed away in 2005. Due to health issues and familial challenges, Lavanya was unable to complete the formalities required to claim her family pension.
Complications arose because of documentation issues and she had inadvertently overdrawn her late husband’s pension. Moreover, her account was with a different bank.
The credit for her success goes to Col P Ramesh Kumar, director of the Sainik Welfare Department, Telangana, who persistently tried to help her out of the problem.
The turning point came in 2017 when Lavanya brought her plight to the attention of Col Ramesh Kumar. The colonel liaised with both banks involved, procured the necessary documents, and submitted an undertaking to recover the excess amount drawn.
He coordinated with the record office and the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) in Prayagraj to sanction the
pension, completing a myriad of formalities given the delay in the case.
In October 2021, after four years of relentless efforts, the family pension was sanctioned. However, the journey did not end there - Lavanya mistakenly closed her bank account, prompting Col. Ramesh Kumar to advise her to open a new account in the same bank. He resumed the complex process with the Artillery Record Office and the PCDA authorities for the change in the bank account.
Despite prolonged correspondence and sustained efforts spanning over two years, an amendment to the pension payment order was issued in June, 2023. Yet again, a new challenge emerged when a change of responsibility at the Central Pension Processing Centre of the bank led to her documents being misplaced.
Col Ramesh Kumar engaged in a renewed battle with the authorities. His unwavering persistence bore fruit in June 2024 when Lavanya received her pension along with arrears for the past 18 years.
