HYDERABAD: The Regional Director of the Sindh Ombudsman, Syed Mohammad Sajjad Hyder, held a public hearing at the District Accounts Office here on Monday to receive and address public grievances, particularly those relating to pensions and other financial matters.
District Accounts Officer Syed Iftikhar Shah, officials of the District Accounts Office, and a large number of citizens attended the session. A significant number of pensioners and members of the public presented their individual cases before the regional director.
Most of the complaints were related to delays in the processing and release of pensions; non-payment or delay in pensionary benefits; fixation and revision of pensions, arrears, commutation, family pensions; and other issues concerning pension records and payments. Several complainants apprised the regional director of the difficulties they had been facing in getting their pension cases processed and resolving discrepancies in their official records, while some pensioners sought assistance in obtaining their legitimate dues and early disposal of their pending cases.
Hyder said the purpose of the hearing was to provide pensioners and other citizens an opportunity to directly present their complaints before the concerned authorities. He heard the complainants individually and sought explanations from the officials concerned regarding the status of their cases, also examining the nature of the complaints and discussing the relevant matters with the District Accounts Officer and other officials.
The regional director asked the concerned officials to examine the complaints on merit and take necessary action in accordance with the rules and prescribed procedures. He emphasized that genuine grievances of pensioners should be addressed without unnecessary delay, particularly in view of the difficulties faced by elderly retired employees in pursuing their cases, and reminded the government offices that they were responsible for facilitating citizens and ensuring that legitimate claims were processed transparently and within the prescribed time frame.
Hyder further directed the officials to provide relief in cases where the complainants were found entitled to pensionary benefits under the rules. The regional director assured the participants that genuine complaints would be pursued with the concerned authorities and that the Ombudsman’s office would continue to facilitate citizens in obtaining relief in accordance with the law.
