Pleas going unheard, rue disabled people

Rajendranagar: Amid sorrow and grief, with cries of pending Aasra pension files, which have been lying unattended at government offices, the physically challenged persons celebrated the 'World Disabled Day' in Rajendranagar area.

The applications in the past used to be sanctioned once in two months, but now the time gap has extended to 6 to 10 months. For instance, the application of Bushra Begum, a 12-year-old mentally retarded girl from Hassan Nagar, has been pending since 2014. Since she is a mentally retarded girl, her case is regularly put forth by her family members and some well-wishers in the area.

In another case, application of a disabled person from Attapur area is being kept on hold for one year. "I had submitted the application online for Aasra pension almost a year ago, but have not yet got the approval for the same. The online status from the beginning continues to show as 'pending'," said Kiran Pawar from Hyderguda.

Responding on this, the Project Officer UCD Section Anil Kumar said that on Monday, 25 to 30 applications which were properly filed were approved by them. These applications would go through proper channel for clearance from Deputy Commissioner's office to the Collector office. Only after the completion of whole process, will the applicants get the pensions through their accounts.

When asked about the applications that were kept pending for several months, he said, "There are pending in the UCD section as they were not submitted with proper relevant documents, such as white ration card, which is necessary to grant approval. We are not authorised to approve applications sans relevant documents such as white ration, Aadhaar card and SADAREM (Software for Assessment of Disabled for Access Rehabilitation and Empowerment) certificates as it was done in the past. We are constrained to take up files only of applicants who falls under Below Poverty Line (BPL)," he informed.

There are over 12,000 Aasra beneficiaries under Rajendernagar circle out of which only 1,877 are disabled persons. It is learnt that since many well off people also applying for Aasra pension, the government has made it mandatory for applicants to provide relevant documents as a proof to show that they falls under BPL family. "In the last several months we uploaded 143 files online and they are all in the process of approval. Presently we have 50 new applications under Aasra Pension scheme to go for uploading soon," said Ganesh, a subordinate officer of UCD Section.