Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 07 July 2025
In response to continued delays in the disbursement of pensions to retired staff under the Border Area Project (BAP) of Social Welfare Department, senior leaders from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) met the Director of Social Welfare, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, on 03rd July 2025, to demand urgent redressal.
D. Ayyappan, Secretary of the CPI (M) A&N State Organising Committee, and R. Surendran Pillai, President of the CITU State Committee, raised concerns over the non-payment of pensions for the past three months to retired BAP employees. Unlike other government pensioners, BAP pensioners receive their dues directly through the Social Welfare Department, often resulting in delayed payments.
Highlighting the persistent nature of the problem, Ayyappan pointed out that the pensions of retired BAP project staff are regularly disbursed late, causing significant financial hardship for the affected individuals.
Responding to the delegation, the Director of Social Welfare expressed sympathy for the pensioners’ plight and assured the leaders that immediate action would be taken to release the pending payments. He further committed to examining the possibility of a permanent solution to prevent such delays in the future.
