Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has agreed to a suggestion by Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar that the provisions of 'Pending Enquiry Award' under the defence services pension regulations be authorised with immediate effect in all cases until the pension is disbursed.
The Pending Enquiry Award is a payment given to personnel below officer rank and their dependents in case of death or disability before the pensions start.
It involves an undertaking that any amount that the receiver is not entitled to will be refunded once the pension amount is settled.
Chandrasekhar had written a letter to the defence minister with a number of suggestions to streamline pensions for the armed force personnel.
Parrikar, in his reply, said: "I agree with your suggestion that Pending Enquiry Award be authorised with immediate effect in such cases and procedures completed expeditiously."
The minister said that as per the regulations, Pending Enquiry Award can be granted by the Record Office at a monthly rate equal to the appropriate and applicable amount of the ordinary family pension and special family pension or liberalized family pension, as they may be, together with dearness relief.
Chandrasekhar had written to Parrikar on March 1.
In his letter, the MP said: "The soldier's salary stops on the day of his death and along with the delay in pension, the widow and the next of kin are left to struggle to make ends meet. This period of gap leaves the family very vulnerable even as they deal with their irreparable loss."
--IANS
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