Pending medical bills of pensioners to be cleared in one month: Sukhu

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday assured that all pending medical reimbursement bills of pensioners in Himachal Pradesh will be cleared within a month. He made the commitment while meeting a delegation from the Himachal Pradesh Pensioners Joint Front in Shimla.

The Chief Minister said the government remains firmly focused on the welfare of its employees and retirees, calling them the backbone of the administration. He highlighted that restoring the Old Pension Scheme was a key step taken soon after the government assumed office, benefiting nearly 1.36 lakh employees across the state. According to him, this move was aimed at ensuring that retired personnel can meet their social and family responsibilities without financial strain.

Sukhu acknowledged that pensioners’ dues had been delayed but attributed the backlog to what he described as financial mismanagement by the previous BJP government. He said the current administration is working to strengthen revenue generation while maintaining fiscal discipline, enabling it to gradually clear pending liabilities. He emphasised that the government was approaching all employee and pensioner-related matters with a positive and solution-oriented mindset.

Atma Ram Sharma, president of the Pensioners Joint Front, thanked the Chief Minister for the assurance and placed before him several other long-standing demands.