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PMOPG/ E/2023/0189443 DATED 21/09/2023 – SPARSH FUNCTIONING : CATASTROPHIC FAILURE – EX-SERVICEMEN (SENIOR/ SUPER SENIOR CITIZENS)/ SINGLE LADIES PENSIONERS IN TOTAL PANIC 1 message Rk Bhardwaj Mon, 25 Sept, 2023 at 8:36 am
To: webmaster Cc: agbrancharmyhq ,
Col Nitin Sharma Director MP 5 (b) Bcc: defsecy@nic.in URGENT
Lt Col RK Bhardwaj 158/20, Officers Colony (Retd) Rajpur Road Mob – 9219603039 Dehradun – 248009 33886/Sigs 25 Sep 23 Gen Manoj Pande, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC Chief of Army Staff IHQ, New Delhi PMOPG/E/2023/0189443 DATED 21/09/2023 – SPARSH FUNCTIONING : CATASTROPHIC FAILURE – EX-SERVICEMEN (SENIOR/ SUPER SENIOR CITIZENS)/ SINGLE LADIES PENSIONERS IN TOTAL PANIC Sir, 1. Please refer our – (a). E-mail dated 20 Sep 23, Copy enclosed. (b). PMOPG/ E/2023/0189443 dt 21/09/2023, Copy enclosed. 2. Vide above ref Grievance/ E-mail, I on behalf of all the Ex-Servicemen has lodged the Grievance in PMOPG Portal addressed to Hon’ble Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi Jee and fwd the E-mail addressed to CGDA, Def Secy MoD & Secy ESW. We have submitted the difficulties being faced by all the Ex-Servicemen & Single Ladies Pensioners in Operating the SPARSH Portal after Migration. The Grievance has been fwd by Min of Def to IHQ, Dir MP 5 & 6 AG’S Branch on 22 Sep 23. Copy of the same is pasted below for your ready reference please – Registration Number : PMOPG/E/2023/0189443 KIND ATTENTION HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER SH NARENDRA MODI JEE SPARSH FUNCTIONING – CATASTROPHIC FAILURE – EX SERVICEMEN/ SINGLE LADIES PENSIONERS IN TOTAL PANIC 1. SPARSH has been introduced in the Indian Armed Forces for the Betterment and Ease in Functioning by the Ex Servicemen Pensioners in payment of their Pensions. 2. Service Pensioners and Single Ladies are of Age 40-100 years plus, Education Class 5 to Masters, belonging to different Areas and of different Mother Tongues. All Pensioners are not Computer/Smart phones SAVVY. 3. Till now all Pensioners Data was correctly held by PCDA Pensions. No problems were being faced by Pensioners or PCDA Pensions. Why on Migration to SPARSH, so many mistakes are observed. Important Data, Spouse LIVING are shown NOT ALIVE and vice versa. NAMES OF SPOUSES are SHOWN WRONG.In Spite of ePPOs having Spouses Date of Birth, are Not Shown OR Shown Incorrectly in SPARSH Personal Data & SPARSH PPOs. 4. PPOs, Corr PPOs and ePPO of all Pensioners are held with PCDA Pensions. Why so many mistakes are observed in SPARSH Portal & PPOs by majority of Pensioners.It can only happen, if transfer of Data was done with lackadaisical attitude and in a hurry. 5. It is the duty of PCDA Pensions to Transfer the Data to SPARSH Portal.Recheck and Correct it if required, since Complete Data of Pensioners is already held with them.It is not understood why Pensioners are asked to Update the Data after Verification from Records Offices. 6. Sir, we the ESM Request your good office, that Advise be given to Secy Min of Def to Instruct the CGDA/PCDA Pensions SPARSH, that Data of All Pensioners be Transferred, Uploaded and Updated in the SPARSH Portal by their Staff itself.The Pensioners be Not asked to do the same. Once the Verified Data is available with them, why to make the Life of Pensioners difficult besides making Service HQs, Records Offices/ IHQ (MP-5 b), PCDA (O) and PAOs (OR) hard pressed by increasing their workload for Verification of Pensioners Data. ————————————————- 3. Sir, the problems start immediately after migration to SPARSH. In most of the cases Mobile No of Pensioners have not been transferred on SPARSH, thus login ID & Password for SPARSH are not received by the Pensioners. Some of the Pensioners are waiting for 6 months or more for the same. The Aadhaar & PAN Number linked and available with PCDA Pensions in LPC-CUM-DATA-SHEET, have not been transferred on the SPARSH page of most of the Pensioners. In the absence of Aadhaar, Demographic failure OCCURS & Pensioners can’t proceed further after Login. If they are lucky to proceed, difficulty to Submit the Mandatory Declaration is faced due to some technical glitches in the SPARSH Software. 4. Sir, the Complete Personal, Service & Family Data of the Pensioners are available in LPC-CUM-DATA-SHEET (Held with PCDA Pensions). The same have either Not been transferred OR transferred WRONGLY on SPARSH page of the Pensioners by them. In Spite of their Mistake & Not Correcting the same, the Pensioners have been asked to Update/ Correct their Data on their respective SPARSH page. For Each Update/ Correction, the Service Request (SR) is registered. It has to be approved by ORO (MP 5 b)/ Respective Records Offices, before finally Accepted by the SPARSH System. Till the Pending SR is not Processed, New SR can’t be Registered. At times Pensioners have to wait for 3 – 6 months or even more to Update/ Correct their Remaining Data. Grievance can only be filed after 30 days from Registration of SR. No Advisory OR User Guidelines (How to Fill the Missing Data) for the Pensioners have been issued by the PCDA Pensions SPARSH. What Actions OR Whom to Contact, in case of Delay in Verification of Updated Data. Infact for the Data already held with PCDA Pensions, No Verification should have been required to Save the time.These can be posted in the SPARSH Portal. Few Data asked for, like Spouse PPO No (Mandatory) is not known to all the Pensioners. Irrelevant Supporting Documents are being asked to be uploaded, like Joining Order for Corps/ Branch & Citizenship proof for Nationality. 5. Processing of the SR takes 10 days to Number of Months in certain cases. Few Single Ladies have Not been able to Upload the Death Certificates of their Late Husbands for months to Report the Death & Initiate the Family Pension. Pity is, the same is Not Accepted By Hand/ Post. With the result they are unable to get their Family Pension. With the present System, it would take few Years for Lakhs of Pensioners to get All their Data Corrected. Till then they would keep Suffering & Cursing the SPARSH, since they are finding themselves Helpless. Some of these problems being faced have also been forwarded to CGDA with copy to Defence Secretary & Secretary ESW in the e-mail referred at Para – 1(a) above (Ref Para -7 of the email). The same are however Pasted below for your ready Reference please – (a). Non receipt of login id & password. (b). While login Demographic failure. (c). Non Submission of Declaration/ Ack. (d). Basic information Aadhaar, PAN, Mobile Not found Entered in Personal Details. (e). Difficulty in Update of Personal Details. Upload of Documents (Asked for are un[1]Warranted or Not Available). (f). Non attendance of Service Request Raised. Who are these agencies & can they be Contacted to request for expedite & how ? (g). Who is to be Contacted if Service Request Not attended for days & months. (h). If the Service Request Not Processed & is Pending, another Service Request can’t be Raised. It requires a relook. It is harassment. (j). TDS not being Deducted. If deducted not Seen in Form 26 AS, though shown in Form – 16. Thus making filing ITR Intime impossible. (k). NRIs living abroad Not permitted to login due to Geo-fencing. How does CGDA expect them to function ? Perforce NRIs are made to Use VPN. Aadhaar is not obligatory for them. But without Aadhaar they can’t login. Besides having difficulty in submission of Life Cert on line. 6. Sir, the Complete Data of each Pensioner is already held with PCDA Pensions in LPC-CUM-DATA-SHEET along with Copies of All the PPOs & Corr PPOs generated by them. That is why, for So Many Years, No problems were ever faced by the Pensioners or PCDA Pensions, BEFORE Migration to SPARSH. It is the duty of the PCDA Pensions to Transfer the Data Correctly to SPARSH, since it affects the Financial transactions. We presume, due to heavy workload and to Meet the Target Date, they failed to transfer the Data Correctly to SPARSH. Therefore majority of the Pensioners SPARSH pages are having a Number of mistakes or few Data Fields are found blank. To avoid their Duty/Work for Correcting the same, PCDA Pensions SPARSH Staff are forcing the Pensioners to Update to Correct the wrong Data/ Fill the Blank Fields (Mistakes done by PCDA Pensions). The SPARSH system has yet not been stabilized, due to the Reasons best known to them & is having Number of Technical glitches. Therefore is Not working Satisfactorily. The System/ Practice being followed by PCDA Pensions SPARSH for getting the Data Updated/ Corrected/ Filled in Blank Fields, is NOT ONLY PUTTING THE PENSIONERS TO TROUBLE, But is also Increasing the Workload of ORO (MP 5 b), PCDA (Officers) & All the Records Offices as well. Since these Offices have to Verify the Data before giving Approval to Each Data Update/ Corrections/ Filled, by the Pensioners. Only after Approval the Data is Corrected/ Updated in SPARSH Portal. 7. Sir, the difficulties being faced are not only applicable to me but to all the Ex-Servicemen and Single Ladies Pensioners. I therefore on behalf of all of them, would request your good office (Head of the Org), to Consider Our above stated Submissions Sympathetically and Advise the Adjutant General, to give the Justified Comments & Recommendations to Change the Policy of Updating the Data by Pensioners. PCDA Pension be asked to undertake the Job of Upload/ Update, Recheck & Correct the Data, if required in SPARSH. Sir, they would take MUCH LESSER time, besides Ensuring the Correct Data Transfer on SPARSH Portal. The Workload of other agencies, e.g. ORO (MP 5 b), all Records Offices & PCDA (Officers) would also Not increase unnecessarily. All the Ex-Servicemen & Single Ladies Pensioners would also be relieved from their Panic & Tension, while Operating the SPARSH Portal. Detailed User guidelines in the layman’s language while working on SPARSH be Posted in SPARSH Portal including Actions to be taken in case of likely difficulties being faced. 8. Sir, keeping the above in view, your Right & Timely Directions would go a long way in having the Perfect System of SPARSH in Place for the Future. It would help all the Present & Future Ex-Servicemen & Single Ladies Pensioners in having their Remaining life Peaceful & Tension free while Operating the SPARSH Portal. We are sure of your blessings in this regard. Warm regards.
Yours Sincerely, Encl : Two.
(Lt Col RK Bhardwaj)
Retired Copy to – Sh Giridhar Aramane, IAS For info please. Defence Secretary PMOPG/E/2023/ South Block 0189443 dt 21/09/23 New Delhi refers.
Lt Gen C Bansi Ponnappa, PVSM, AVSM, VSM Adjutant General IHQ, New Delhi
Col Nitin Sharma. PMOPG/E/2023/ Director MP 5 (b) 0189443 dt 21/9/23 AG’s Branch.
fwd to your Office by IHQ, New Delhi Min of Def on 22/9/2