Following up on its “indefinite dharna,” Pension Parishad will intensify political mobilisation to demand universal old-age pension.
On Thursday, leaders from across the political spectrum, including the Congress, the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party, backed the demand, terming universal pension a matter of entitlement and an honourable monthly payment.
Unorganised labour groups, under the banner of Pension Parishad led by Aruna Roy of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and Baba Adhav of the Hamal Panchayat, will organise a dharna during the winter session of Parliament.
The BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, Harsh Vardhan, assured the voters of Delhi that if put in, his party would establish a commission to consider universal pension.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Prashant Bhushan acknowledged that the issue was not in the party’s manifesto now; but he promised to add this demand to his party’s agenda.
“The winter session of Parliament is possibly the last opportunity we are likely to get to push for universal pension before the [Lok Sabha] elections are announced,” Nikhil Dey of the MKSS told The Hindu .
Despite a commitment from the Union government, the timeline for implementation is uncertain. “After two rounds of discussion between Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Rural Development, and Pension Parishad, on March 7 2013 we were informed that the Ministry for Rural Development would send to the Cabinet for approval the appropriately structured National Social Assistance Programme for immediate implementation,” said Pension Parishad’s letter to the Prime Minister. In the meantime, many States have made a significant progress towards universal pension.
The most critical thrust of Pension Parishad’s campaign is the demand that pension be universal, especially for women because of their high level of dependency on it for daily sustenance. The sum should be either Rs. 2,000 or half the price of the minimum wages, whichever is higher. Currently, the Centre provides a pension of Rs.200 a month to those who are in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category.
Another key demand of Pension Parishad is that the pension be indexed to inflation, so that the sum will keep pace with inflation every six months. It also wants the amount paid to the recipient on a fixed date. At present, some States pay every quarter. As a consequence, the elderly are not sure when they will get their pension. Furthermore, the delivery system should be transparent, and the list of recipients in each State must be displayed on the website in order to avoid misappropriation.
The organisation also seeks a system for redressing pensioners’ grievances.
India is home to more than 14 crore elderly (aged above 54 years), with 70 per cent of them living in rural areas and 55 per cent in Six States alone.
PTI reports:
Shankar Singh of the MKSS said that though the pension scheme worked in different States, only Rajasthan, Goa and Haryana had the universal pension scheme. Of these, Goa gave the highest of Rs. 2,000 a month to its elderly people, Haryana Rs.1,500 and Rajasthan a mere Rs. 500. In all these schemes, the Centre contributed Rs. 200, with the States bearing the rest.
