BJP, Cong councillors spar over pension issue in SDMC

Councillors of ruling BJP and Opposition Congress in the SDMC today accused each other of "milking" the issue of pensions due to thousands of people, for
"electoral gains" in the upcoming municipal bypolls.
SDMC councilors raised the issue saying there are nearly 80,000 beneficiaries who have not received pension for the last 16 months.
The MCD bypolls to 13 seats are due on May 15.
Congress councilor and Leader of Opposition in BJP-led South Delhi Municipal Corporation Farhad Suri claimed that the corporation was "not paying" pensions despite having a "sound financial condition".
"The closing balance of SDMC for the current date is Rs 1,208 crore whereas it has pension dues of Rs 128 crore to clear," Suri claimed charging BJP of planning to disburse the pension backlog just before the civic bodies polls.

The SDMC has so far disbursed Rs 1,000 monthly pension upto December 2014 to the elderly people, widows, destitute and physically-challenged beneficiaries of the scheme which incurs an annual expenditure of Rs 100 crore on the civic body.
Leader of House Subhash Arya said that the pensions of three months will be disbursed in the next week and officials have been directed in this regard.
Arya alleged that Congress councilors were raising the issue to gain political benefits in the corporation bypolls.