Chandigarh-Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday chaired a complete evaluation assembly with varied banks at Punjab Bhawan to handle and resolve the substantial backlog of points pending on the Pensioner Sewa Portal (PSP). Expressing critical concern over repeated delays and missed timelines, Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema fastened a strict deadline of March 31, 2026 for clearing all pending issues and made it clear that no additional laxity can be tolerated.
In the course of the assembly, Cheema mentioned that banks had earlier failed to stick to dedicated schedules, prompting the Punjab Authorities to grant extensions at their request. “Regardless of these allowances, heavy backlogs persist throughout main monetary establishments. This example is unacceptable. All pending points associated to the Pensioner Sewa Portal should be resolved by March 31, 2026,” he acknowledged.
Saying a follow-up evaluation assembly on March 15, the Minister issued a stern warning. “The Punjab Authorities will take strict motion in opposition to any financial institution that fails to clear all pending points by the March 31 deadline. Pensioners can’t be made to endure on account of administrative inefficiency,” he mentioned.
Highlighting non-compliance with the Punjab Authorities’s directions dated October 31, 2025, which mandated the acceptance of solely Digital Life Certificates by means of Jeevan Pramaan Patra (JPP), Minister Harpal Singh Cheema mentioned that sure banks had not totally carried out the directive. “To take away any communication hole, the federal government has supplied banks with a selected message and letter template. Banks should ahead this message by means of their up to date contact databases in order that pensioners are totally conscious of the necessary JPP and eKYC necessities. This collaborative outreach is important for efficiently finishing the method,” he mentioned.
Emphasising the state’s Door Step Supply (DSD) initiative geared toward helping pensioners in finishing their JPP and eKYC at house, he harassed the significance of energetic financial institution cooperation. “Given the rising risk of cyber frauds and digital arrests, many pensioners should choose the safety of visiting bodily financial institution branches as an alternative of utilising DSD companies. Subsequently, branch-level readiness is important,” he mentioned.
Reinforcing these directives, Extra Chief Secretary Finance Alok Shekhar laid down strict operational pointers throughout the assembly. “Banks should add correct e-scrolls and promptly take away any discrepancies flagged by District Treasury Officers. Delays in compliance is not going to be entertained,” he mentioned.
As well as, Alok Shekhar directed banks to produce all pending PPO PDFs, approve provisional pensioners, and add guide life certificates accepted previous to the October 31, 2025 cut-off in a strictly time-bound method. He additional instructed monetary establishments to expedite the combination of their inner software program with the Pensioner Sewa Portal.
Different key administrative duties mentioned throughout the assembly included marking Non-Resident Indian pensioners on the portal, importing their notarised Life Certificates, and processing all JPP requests at the moment pending on the financial institution stage.
Concluding the assembly, Cheema reaffirmed the unwavering dedication of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Authorities to the welfare of pensioners. “All banks should instantly implement the mandatory system modifications to forestall any undue rejections or unwarranted acceptances of JPPs going ahead. The dignity and monetary safety of our pensioners stay our high precedence,” he mentioned
