About six lakh new beneficiaries have been found eligible for pensions so far under Aasara — the social security scheme of the govenment — after the age limit of beneficiaries was reduced to 57 years, said Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao.
The collectors of districts, including Hyderabad, were ascertaining the exact number, the survey to identify the new pension beneficiaries after the age limit was reduced to 57 years will be completed in a month, he said.
The Minister, responding to Rasamayi Balakishan , G.Sunitha and others in the Question Hour in the Assembly here on Saturday, said that 39,41,976 persons were getting the benefit in the State under the Aasara scheme till August 31 this year and the government had spent ₹23,019 crore.
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Central share
In the budget for 2019-20, ₹9,402 crore was allotted for pensions for all categories of people and of it State’s share is ₹9,192 crore and that of Centre’s share is ₹209 crore, he said. The Centre gave pensions only to old people, widows and physically challenged while the State extended pensions also to single women, beedi workers, filaria patients, toddy tappers and handloom workers, he said. He however did not agree to the suggestion from the members that pensions be distributed to the beneficiaries through the respective village secretaries as there were some issues in the biometric system and pensioners had to go to post offices that were far away. Previously when village secretaries were involved in disbursement of financial benefits, misuse had occurred.
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The government however would consider the disbursement of pensions in every village through post offices only, the Minister said.
Nowhere in the country, such high pensions were given to beneficiaries and this helped the aged to live with dignity in the State.
In Rajasthan the old age pension was only ₹750 a month. Telangana State alone was giving maximum pension of ₹2,016 and ₹3,016 to the disabled.