KCR to launch ‘Aasara’ scheme today

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will be launching ‘Aasara’ pension scheme meant for old-aged, widows and handicapped in Mahabubnagar on Saturday. Meanwhile, rest of his cabinet colleagues would be distributing pensions to beneficiaries in rest of the nine districts on the same day.

While old-aged persons and widows would get Rs 1,000, handicapped persons with physical disabilities, including the skeletal fluorosis-affected in Nalgonda district, would be given Rs 1,500 per month by the government. Hiking of pensions was one of the main promises included in TRS manifesto and accordingly TRS government took steps to implement it within six months of assuming power.

This scheme would kick-off at 11 am in Kottur village in Shadnagar mandal of Mahabubnagar district with Chief Minister set to hand over pension amounts (in cash) to beneficiaries of various categories.

Elaborating details at a press meet held at TRSLP office, Panchayat Raj Minister K Taraka Rama Rao said arrangements were made to distribute pensions to at least 500 to 1,000 beneficiaries in each constituency on November 8. He said a single family could be entitled to all three pensions old-aged, widows and handicapped if members were eligible for it. However, old-aged pensions would not given to two members in the same family, he stressed.

Old-aged and widow pensions were hiked five times to Rs 1,000 from the previous Rs 200 amount given in the undivided state and like-wise pension amounts for handicapped individuals was enhanced three times from the old Rs 500 to Rs 1500, he said.

Because of this decision, the likely burden on the government was put at around Rs 3,000 crore. This was almost three-and-half times the budget of Rs 833 crore allotted for pensions in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh state, KTR pointed out.

He said that process of finalisation of beneficiaries was still going on and it would be completed by end of November. Directions were given to authorities not to insist on Aadhaar cards or documents especially for widows in preparation of beneficiaries list after preliminary enquiry. However, they would be given pensions and three months time to furnish related documents, he added.

He assured 99 per cent of applicants would be given pensions. Besides, final the list would not include even a single illegal beneficiary, he emphasised.

Meanwhile, a press statement from Chief Minister’s Office stated that Naini Narasimha Reddy and Mahmood Ali would distribute pensions to beneficiaries in Hyderabad while Eatala Rajender and K Taraka Rama Rao would do the same in Karimnagar and like-wise T Harish Rao in Medak district.