Authorities are keeping a close watch on the changing economic profile of beneficiaries of social security pension schemes.
If any of the beneficiaries takes a loan of a few lakhs of rupees from a bank or a financial institution, officials in charge of the implementation of the social security pension schemes get alerts from the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA), as the database of the beneficiaries is integrated with that of Aadhaar and Income Tax department’s permanent account numbers (PAN).
“Just because we get the alert from the TNeGA, we do not automatically delete the names of beneficiaries from the list. Our staff do their verification and ascertain the circumstances under which the loan is obtained. Only then will we judge the economic status of the beneficiaries,” says a senior official, adding that the purpose is that no eligible person be left out of the scheme or removed from the scheme. If any fixed asset is acquired, its value should not exceed ₹1 lakh. No beneficiary is considered ineligible merely on the grounds that he or she lives with his or her son or daughter. “We make efforts to ascertain the economic strength of the supporting son or daughter. In case the son or the daughter is below the poverty line, we don’t disturb the provision of the social security pension. But, if he or she is found to be economically sound, the respective revenue official issues a direction to him or her to provide maintenance allowance to the parent under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (MWPSC) Act,” the official explains. As per the law, the maximum amount has been fixed at ₹10,000 a month.
Also, if any beneficiary is covered under any other welfare scheme of the government and receives financial assistance monthly, in addition to the social security pension, the authorities will inform the person that he or she is entitled to get the government assistance under only one scheme. For example, until recently, about 800 beneficiaries of the social security pension were also receiving pension from the Construction Workers Welfare Board. They have since been removed from the social security pension scheme.
As a result of several steps, including continuous updating and review of beneficiaries’ database, all of which are covered under the data purity project, the number of beneficiaries, which stood at 34,52,758 as on March 31 this year, has gone down to 34,26,175. “The overall number keeps on fluctuating. It is dynamic,”says the official, reiterating that “due diligence” is shown before acting against any ineligible person. As of now, ₹1,000 is paid every month to every beneficiary.
Meanwhile, the government is examining various inputs received in response to its draft policy on senior citizens, which has mooted the concept of the payment of a differential pension system based on the age group (60-70 years, 70-80 years, 80+ years) of the elderly. The highest pension shall be given to the 80+ years senior citizens. “More than 200 suggestions were received and they were forwarded to secretaries of many departments, who had given their response. It has been planned to have a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary [V. Irai Anbu] before the release of the final document,” says another official.
‘Promise not fulfilled’
Referring to media reports regarding the social security pension, the AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam, in a statement, said doubts had arisen whether the DMK government was removing the existing beneficiaries instead of adding the new ones. Despite completing one year in office, the regime had not yet fulfilled the electoral promise of enhancing the old age pension to ₹1,500 a month, he pointed out, complaining that if any pensioner had taken a jewellery loan of over ₹1 lakh, he or she had been removed from the list.
