Delhi’s Social Welfare Department has ordered district officials to clear 9,946 pending old-age pension applications within seven days, after more than half of the applications received this year remained undecided. The special drive will target existing cases, while the standard 45-day timeline for processing new applications will continue unchanged.
According to department data reported by Jagran, 16,194 applications were received between January 1 and September 8 for the available old-age pension slots. Of these, 6,150 applications had been approved and 98 rejected, while 9,946 were still pending. The figures show that decisions had not been taken on more than 60% of the applications received during the period.
Delhi’s old-age pension scheme has a total capacity of 38,706 slots. Of these, 22,512 slots are currently vacant, according to the report. The department has instructed all district social welfare officers to monitor the pending cases daily and ensure that they are resolved during the seven-day campaign.
The highest number of pending applications is in North West-2, where 4,058 cases are awaiting disposal. West district has 1,675 pending applications, followed by North East with 1,626. North has 897 pending cases, while South has 489 and New Delhi has 399. North West-1 has 375 pending applications.
The remaining backlog includes 293 applications in East, 106 in Central and 18 in South West. The district-wise figures indicate that the delay is concentrated in a few administrative units, particularly North West-2, West and North East, rather than being evenly distributed across Delhi.
The department has directed officials not to keep any application pending without a valid and recorded reason. Cases that exceed the prescribed e-SLA timeline will be reviewed separately. The instructions make the district-level officers responsible for tracking each application and ensuring that pending cases move through the process during the special campaign.
A senior official cited a shortage of officers at the district level as one reason for the backlog. In several areas, a single district social welfare officer is reportedly handling the responsibilities of two or three districts. This arrangement has added to the administrative workload as officials process applications, verify eligibility and manage other social welfare responsibilities.
The seven-day deadline applies only to applications already pending when the special campaign begins. It does not replace the existing 45-day service-level timeline for new applications. The department’s immediate next step is to conduct daily monitoring of the backlog and complete disposal of the identified cases within the specified seven-day period.
