14,000 pensioners yet to receive DA arrears due to technical glitch
Around 14,000 pensioners under the Seethammadhara Sub-Treasury have not yet received their Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears released by the state government. Treasury officials said the delay was caused by a technical issue in the system.
Before Sankranti, the government released two instalments of DA arrears related to 2018 for employees, teachers and pensioners. Beneficiaries under Anakapalli, Paderu, Yelamanchili, Chodavaram and Narsipatnam sub-treasuries received the payments. However, pensioners in the Seethammadhara area did not get the amounts.
Officials said that about 14,000 pensioners were under the Seethammadhara Sub-Treasury in 2018. The number has now increased to nearly 19,000. Pensioners who were on the rolls in 2018 are eligible for two DA revisions from that year.
Approval to release the pending DA arrears was given in 2021. At that time, bills for employees and pensioners were uploaded but not cleared. Officials explained that such bills expire if they are not processed within the financial year. They must then be uploaded again every year.
In 2018, DA was first increased from 27 percent to 30 percent, and later from 30 percent to 33 percent. These changes must be correctly shown each time the bills are re-uploaded. The CFMS wing at the treasury headquarters in Vijayawada monitors this process and checks the submissions.
When the arrears were released before Sankranti, the payments were not credited to pensioners under the Seethammadhara Sub-Treasury. Many affected pensioners visited the sub-treasury office, while others contacted senior officials for clarification.
Sub-Treasury officials informed district authorities, who then raised the matter with senior officials in Vijayawada. After review, officials confirmed that a technical problem in the CFMS system prevented the payments from being credited. Steps are being taken to fix the issue, and the arrears are expected to be credited within a few days, according to pensioners who spoke to officials.