CH NEWS, CHIKKAMAGLUR
There are 1,18,880 beneficiaries in the district, including Sandhya Suraksha, Widow’s Pension, and Disabled Pension. The state government initiated a special review after complaints increased that old age pension was being given to those below the age of 60.
There was a rule that the income limit to get pension should be less than Rs 32,000. On this basis, 69,061 pensioners in the district were subjected to verification and the monthly salary of 67,772 pensioners was withheld. Only the pension of the remaining 1,289 people was continued. On August 18, the state government issued a new circular and increased the income limit to Rs 1.20 lakh. Due to this, out of the 67,772 pensioners who were withheld in the district, 41,008 beneficiaries have become eligible to get pension. Another 26,764 beneficiaries are left out.
Even the eligible beneficiaries have not yet received their pension. Beneficiaries are still wandering to the revenue department offices to get new income certificates. The elderly who rely on this pension are in distress.
Four months of pension have been withheld since May. Officials explain that the arrears of pension for all those months will be credited to the beneficiaries’ accounts.
Most of the 26,764 people who will now be excluded from the list of beneficiaries were on the old age pension list. Of these, more than 20,000 are below the age of 60. Therefore, officials say that they will be excluded from the list. Since pensions were also granted to middle-aged people who have not completed 60 years, eligible beneficiaries had to wander. Due to the mistake made by the officials, the elderly have been roaming around the office at a reduced age. They have been living without old age pension for four months.
A criminal case has been registered against 11 revenue department staff in Kadur taluk for allegedly granting old age pension to middle-aged people.