What or Who Killed the PCDA (Pension) Website

 

How did the PCDA P Portal die

In reply to Cdr Ravindra Pathak through No. IT&S/109/EM/Vol-I dated 13 Jun 2023, in reply to grievance No. PMOPG/E/2012/0106533 dated 22 May 2023, the PCDA (P) stated, “Please refer to your grievance regarding non-functioning of this office website i.e. www.pcdapension.nic.in. In this connection, it is intimated that the website is down due to some technical reasons from 12.03.2023 and the matter has been already taken up with the concerned technical team for the earliest resolution of the proble. Inconvenience caused is deeply regretted.

Sd/-------- R P Mishra, Accounts Officer (IT & S)

 A year and 6 months later, vide IT&S/109/EM/Vol-I dated 24 Oct 2024, the SAO (IT & S) stated in reply to a letter to the Officer Incharge, RTI Cell (Local) with reference to his letter No. Admin/RTI/3584/545/2014 dated 25 Sep 2024, that “In this regard it is intimated that the website of PCDA (Pension) is down due to security issues. Currently, the PCDA (P) website is not functional. The complainant may be informed accordingly. Sd/----SAO (IT&S).

 On 8 November 2024 at 13:09 an email was addressed to

 To: defsecy@nic.in, sb.naithani@nic.in, fads1-mod@gov.in, devikar@nic.in, alkasharma.dad@hub.nic.in, pcdacpp.dad@hub.nic.in

 To

Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh IAS (KL 1989), Defence Secretary

(2) Shri S B Naithani Principal Staff Officer to Defence Secretary

(3) Shri Sugata Ghosh Dastidar, Financial Adviser Defence Services

(4) Smt Devika Raghuvanshi, Controller General of Defence Accounts

(5) Smt Alka Sharma, Special CGDA (now retired)

 

Sir/Madam,

 Greetings

 …………...

 I have been active in obtaining information through RTI on various issues concerning Pay and Pension so that rumours and speculation is minimised by publishing on a blog titled Aerial View. I am also assisting pensioners, especially Family pensioners as the beneficiaries are not very computer literate.

 As long as the PCDA (Pension) website was functional, it was possible to download and read various Pension related Circulars and to clear doubts, my own and those of who approached me.

 However, since March 2023, as admitted by the Public Authority, the PCDA (P) website has been "down" due to technical and security issues.

 That the website is not functional for over 18 months is something that does not appear to have been informed to the highest levels of the Ministry of Defence and Defence Accounts Department.

 In the meantime, the aggressive migration of over 30 lakh Defence pensioners to SPARSH being the task set by your predecessor, Shri Giridhar Aramane, has resulted in messages like "Record Discrepant as mandatory data is not available" to many pensioners. Lack of information on what a pensioner should do in such cases is not available either on the SPARSH website nor can one obtain it from the PCDA (P) website because it is "down"! Please see second attachment.

 Raising a grievance on the SPARSH website appears not to be of much use because one receives a cryptic message that the grievance is Closed but no further details though the SPARSH has both email and mobile numbers of all migrated pensioners and family pensioners.

 In addition, many senior citizen pensioners - ages 85 and above - are running from pillar to post to get the additional pension (granted vide MoD/DESW letter of 12.11.2008) because of this 'data discrepancy.'

 One is aware that many are resorting to RTI applications because information on which officer should one approach is missing on the SPARSH and PCDA (P) websites.

 If the data was digitally transferred from the erstwhile web based ASHRAYA and SUVIGYA designed by CGDA and inaugurated with much fanfare in 2011 by then Raksha Mantri, Shri A K Antony, to the web-based SPARSH announced with greater fanfare by Shri Arun Jaitley (may his soul rest in peace), it is a mystery to many computer literate pensioners as to how data could need verification, as annual audits have been taking place of every pension account. Chapter 11 of the CGDA Manual on audit refers.

 Finally, even though MoD has published information as required by Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005, such information relevant to Section 4 is missing from the functional  SPARSH website.

 The helpline offers advice to contact the Record Office (RO). The RO has no information as stated in a reply dated Oct 2024.

 PCDA (P) website as it continues to be down at the time of writing this email even in the link on https://cgda.nic.in/index.php?page=pensionersportal

 National Informatics Centre Services Incorporated, which is supposed to maintain the website appears to have no information. In reply to request dated 09 Nov 24, it transferred, on 21 Nov 24, the request for information on the nature of problems  to PCDA, Defence Officers Complex, New Delhi which has transferred the request to PCDA (P)  on 02 Dec 24.

 The Lucknow branch of the National Informatics Centre which looks after Uttar Pradesh, stated in reply to RTI request NICHQ/R/E/24/00677, “As per information received from NIC UP State Centre i.e. Deemed PIO and Custodian of Information, the reply to the said RTI application is as follows :

The referred website is not hosted through Uttar Pradesh State Centre and also not being looked after by UP State Centre so information can not be provided.

In case you want to go for an appeal related to the reply provided, you may appeal to the Appellate Authority indicated below within thirty days from the date of disposal of this RTI Query: Shri Timothy Dkhar, DDG & Appellate Authority, National Informatics Centre, A-Block CGO Complex, Lodhi Road New Delhi : 110003.

 That leaves the question – who or what killed http://pcdapension.nic.in ?