Telangana Sainik Welfare: Army veteran’s widow gets pension cleared after 18 years

Hyderabad: It took 18 years for the widow of an Army personnel to get the family pension she is entitled to under the security forces protocol.

Lavanya, the widow of Gunner Ramana Reddy credited the end of her 18-year ordeal to the efforts of Col. Ramesh Kumar, director of the Sainik Welfare Department, Telangana.

Gunner Ramana Reddy, who served in the Artillery Regiment, was discharged from the Army in 1991 and passed away in 2005.

Due to ill health and family issues, Lavanya was unable to complete the necessary formalities for claiming her family pension. Her request was further complicated by erroneously overdrawn pension payments, documentation issues, and having her account in a different bank.

Multiple setbacks

In 2017, Lavanya approached Col. Ramesh Kumar for assistance. Col. Kumar took immediate action by coordinating with the banks involved to secure the required documents and submitting an undertaking to recover the excess amount drawn.

He then took up the case with the record office and the principal controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA) Prayagraj, completing numerous formalities associated with the 12-year-old case. After four years of sustained efforts, the family pension was sanctioned in October 2021.

However, further complications arose when Lavanya inadvertently closed her bank account. Col. Kumar advised her to open a new account in the same bank and resumed efforts to amend the Pension Payment Order. This process led to the issuance of the amended order in June 2023. A subsequent change in the responsibility of the Central Pension Processing Centres of the bank resulted in the misplacement of documents, prolonging the issue further.

Despite these setbacks, Col. Kumar persisted. His continued advocacy and follow-ups with the concerned authorities culminated in the disbursal of the pension and arrears for the past 18 years to Lavanya in June 2024.

“It has been a long and challenging process, but we are pleased that Lavanya has finally received the pension she rightfully deserves,” said Col. Ramesh Kumar. “Our department remains committed to supporting the families of our ex-servicemen.”