Chandigarh, Oct. 16 -- Punjab's social security delivery system has come under scrutiny after the Punjab Transparency and Accountability Commission flagged 26,000 applications pending beyond the prescribed timelines across five notified services, with old-age pension cases accounting for nearly 90% of the backlog.

The pendency includes 24,000 old-age pension applications, raising concerns over delays in processing financial aid of Rs.1,500 a month for eligible beneficiaries under Punjab's old-age pension scheme, amounting to Rs.18,000 a year.

In a letter dated October 14 to Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, principal secretary of the department of social security and development of women and children, commission chief Vijay Kumar Janjua called for...