TAXILA: As many as 27 retired employees of the tehsil municipal administration (TMA) Hassanabdal and their families are waiting for their retirement benefits.

Authorities, however, blamed paucity of funds for being unable to pay them the benefits.

The pensioners include seven sanitation workers, seven clerical staff, three valve men, one driver, three peons, one water checker and one lady teacher.

Moreover, family of Farooq Sultan, who died during service in February 2020, has been deprived of the benefits.

Only one retired sanitation worker could be able to get his outstanding dues on the intervention of provincial ombudsman after he approached him.

“We have been running from pillar to post for the last many years to get our outstanding dues,” said a retired teacher Rehana Habib.

She added she visited personally to member parliaments from the area as well as officials of district administration and provincial authorities but they did nothing except for making false promises.

Widow of Farooq Sulatn said that her husband died during service and as per government rules all the retirement benefits should be paid to his legal heirs during three months but she is being denied her right and is looking after her children on her own.

When contacted to administrator municipal committee Ms Zunaria Jalil , she said that a sum of Rs33.022 million is outstanding of these pensioners. She added that this amount is almost equal to the total volume of the budget of the committee and as the municipal committee lacked funds, therefore it is not possible to give these pensioners their dues.

Replying to a question, she said all efforts were being made to pay monthly pension on time. Responding to another question, she said that the provincial government has been approached many times with the request to release extra grants to the civic body but to no avail.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2021