Committees, headed by PCS officers, had been constituted and these would undertake a thorough review of all the pension cases in all the nine blocks of the district. These committees would have as members the block development and panchayat officer, tehsildar or naib tehsildar or naib tehsildar of the area and doctors of the health department.

This was announced by Jasbir Singh Bir while presiding over a meeting called for a review of the old-age pension cases which was attended among others by senior officers of the district.

At the moment, in Patiala district, a total of 31,782 persons have been getting the benefit of old-age pension as on March 31. Old men beyond the age of 65 years and women who are over 60 years of age are eligible for the grant of old-age pension. The income in the case of those staying alone should not exceed Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 in the case of couples.

THe deputy Commissioner added that the review committees would undertake the exercise of screening of old-age pension cases by touring villages and scrutinising the cases in the presence of village panchayats and village lambardars.