It’s celebration time for NTR Bharosa pension beneficiaries

Tirupati: The official machinery has geared up to formally launch NTR Bharosa pension scheme on Monday. In Tirupati district, 2,69,162 beneficiaries will get Rs 182.33 crore social security pensions while in Chittoor district, 2,71,696 pensioners will receive Rs 181 crore pensions. The State government has hiked pension amount from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 from April this year and now paying Rs 3,000 arrears for April to June. As such, each beneficiary will get Rs 7,000 on Monday.

District Collectors of Tirupati and Chittoor HM Dhyana Chandra and Sumit Kumar respectively, said that pension distribution will start from 6 am. Ward and village secretariat staff will disburse pension amounts at the doorstep of the beneficiaries under various categories. Each employee has been allocated 50 houses and they were instructed to complete the distribution on Monday itself as far as possible. The beneficiaries were also asked to remain at their houses to get their pension amounts.

It may be recalled that the government has increased the pensions for partially disabled from Rs 3,000 to Rs 6,000, while for disabled it has gone up to Rs 15,000 from Rs 5,000. Patients suffering from kidney, Thalassemia and other chronic diseases will also get Rs 10,000 pensions as against the previous Rs 5,000.

The local MLAs will be participating in the pension distribution programme on the first day in their constituencies. Tirupati MLA Arani Srinivasulu will take part in the programme at 5.45 am in Bhavani Nagar of the city. He will also attend the programmes at various other places during the day. TDP, BJP and Jana Sena Party leaders have been planning to make their presence as this is part of the ‘Super Six’ schemes of the government.

After several unpleasant experiences during the last two months with the pensioners were forced to go to the ward/village secretariats and banks to receive their pensions, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during his electioneering assured that the increased pension amounts will be disbursed at home after his government comes into power. Accordingly, the government has been making arrangements to conduct the programme in a festive atmosphere.