Pensions halted for hundreds due to lack of National ID cards

Kathmandu, October 4 — Hundreds of ex-government employees have had their pensions halted just before Dashain due to the lack of national identity cards. This has caused distress among thousands of pension holders who were planning to celebrate the festival with their pensions.

The Rashtriya Banijya Bank, which manages the pensions for civil and government employees, has been sending back those without national identity cards, leading to complaints from service users. Maya Gautam, who went to the Battisputali branch to collect her pension, reported being turned away because she lacked the required identification. She expressed her frustration, stating she had planned to use three months' worth of pension for Dashain expenses.

The Cabinet had decided on June 29 to implement the national identity card requirement starting from July 16. Accordingly, it was mandated in 28 districts to require a national identity card from that date. However, after public outcry regarding the difficulties faced by the elderly in receiving their pensions without the card, the government reconsidered its immediate enforcement.

Although the Cabinet made this decision, no circular was issued to subordinate agencies. As a result, individuals without national identity cards were denied their benefits. Following a petition on this matter, the Supreme Court had ordered that this requirement should not be enforced immediately, which seemed to resolve the issue at the time. Yet, with Dashain approaching, the problem of pension access has resurfaced.

What do the relevant authorities say?

Devendra Raman Khanal, the CEO of the Rashtriya Banijya Bank, stated that they have not received any communication from the relevant authorities regarding the necessity of a national identity card for pension purposes. "We coordinate with the Pension Management Office on pensions. They initially informed us that a national identity card number would be required for pensions. However, we have not received any further circular stating that it is no longer needed," Khanal explained.

Meanwhile, Bishnu Prasad Kharel, head of the Pension Management Office, indicated that there has been no directive from higher authorities regarding the requirement for a national identity card for pensions and that the court order did not address this issue. "We have not received any instruction from higher authorities to waive this requirement. Without such guidance, we cannot make changes," Kharel stated. "The court's order specified that national identity cards should not be mandatory for any service requiring citizenship. For pensions, citizenship is not required; a pension certificate is needed. Therefore, the order did not clarify this point regarding pensions, so we were unable to proceed."

Over 300,000 pension holders

Currently, more than 300,000 citizens in Nepal receive pensions. According to data from the Pension Management Office, a total of 308,000 people received pensions in the fiscal year 2023/24. Among them, 88,296 are civil servants, 62,176 are police officers, 55,776 are teachers, and 101,761 are from the Nepal Army. It appears that all those who have not received a national identity card number will be deprived of these benefits. However, the government lacks definitive data on how many pension recipients have not obtained their national identity cards.

Obtaining a national identity card in the Kathmandu Valley is currently very challenging. Even outside the valley, while district and area administrative offices may not be crowded, the online application process has proven difficult for rural residents. Some time ago, the government had organized efforts to photograph citizens and collect biometric data in villages. However, many citizens who were missed during that process have not been able to register in the system to date.

According to the National Identity Card and Registration Department, by the end of July, 15,165,000 people had received national identity card numbers. Currently, an average of 200,000 additional identity cards are being issued monthly.

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