Excessive delay: Ombudsman directs Benevolent Fund to apologise to widow

Ombudsman also ordered Rs20,000 as compensation to be paid to complainant for the excessive delay.

LAHORE:

Provincial Ombudsman Javaid Mahmood has ordered an inquiry to fix for responsibility of delay in payment of a grant to a widow.

He also ordered the Benevolent Fund Board secretary to send an apology to the widow within 15 days. He also ordered Rs20,000 as compensation to be paid to her for the excessive delay.

The orders were issued on the complaint of Shehnaz Azam, widow of late Muhammad Azam Mughal, a former education director who retired from service in 1997 and passed away in 1998. Administrative officers of the Benevolent Fund and Okara EDO have already visited the house of the widow and delivered cheque of arrears of Widow Aid Grant amounting to Rs300,000 on the direction of the ombudsman.  The amount will be recovered from the officer held responsible for the delay. 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2014.