Aasara beneficiaries rue delay in funds

Rajendranagar: All eyes are on Aasara pensions with the TRS promising increasing the amount in its election manifesto in the recently held Assembly elections. The patience of beneficiaries is wearing thin as beneficiaries are desperately waiting for increased financial assistance as promised by the ruling party from enhancement of all types of Aasara pensions from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,016. For differently abled persons, it would be doubled from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,016 even as the age eligibility for old age pension would be reduced from 65 to 57 years.

Though a GO states that financial assistance be provided before the 5th of every month consistently, complaints poring in over the delay in release of the funds. The beneficiaries are increasingly getting restless over the way the Telangana government is delaying release of the amount in time.

"Earlier, there used to be delays for up to a week or two, but the wait has now become unbearable – in some cases beneficiaries are being made to for 2 months also. For instance, the pension for the month of February this year has not been released yet, putting poor beneficiaries to hardships, said Mohd Subhan, a physically challenged person in Shivrampally area which falls in Rajendranagar constituency.

He says his survival is solely dependent on the Aasara pension. Similar is the fate of hundreds of beneficiaries as they have no other source of income to fall upon to eke out their living. They have been making rounds of Aasara pension offices, but to no avail. "They depend on the pension to procure monthly rations from fair price shops in their respective areas. Due to inordinate delay in release of pensions, they are in a state of utter desperation," says Mohammed Jahingir, an area sabha member from Rajendranagar.