Relief for Senior Citizens: October Deadline Set for Unpaid Odisha Pensions

26 Sep 2026, 07:45 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

Bhubaneswar: Senior citizens across Odisha whose welfare payments stalled over the past five months will receive all backlogged funds alongside their regular disbursements by October, following an intervention announced in the state legislature on Friday.

The delay, which disrupted monthly assistance for a section of vulnerable recipients, had sparked political friction in the Odisha Legislative Assembly, where opposition lawmakers from both the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress repeatedly challenged the government over missed welfare cycles.

Responding through a written submission to the House, Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) Minister Nityananda Gond confirmed that the interruptions stemmed from procedural and technical snags rather than policy shifts or funding shortfalls.

Under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Odisha currently supports a total of 20,33,959 beneficiaries. Under the welfare structure, recipients between the ages of 60 and 79 receive Rs 1,000 per month, while those aged 80 and above are entitled to an enhanced monthly assistance of Rs 3,500.

Addressing the disruption, Gond acknowledged the hardship experienced by the elderly recipients and affirmed that administrative teams are actively untangling the technical hurdles so every eligible citizen receives their rightful support without further friction.

To rectify the pipeline, the SSEPD Department has launched joint troubleshooting efforts with the State Finance Department, Treasury authorities, and central government agencies. The coordinated push focuses on resolving system integration faults between state processing channels and central registries.

With system repairs now entering their final stages, the administration plans to process the accumulated arrears simultaneously with the scheduled October payouts directly into the beneficiaries’ accounts.