Telangana pension scheme: No ‘asara’ for lakhs of eligible beneficiaries

Hyderabad: Poturi Venkatamma and Ginjupalli Krishnaiah from Khammam district, Rachapalli Pochamma from Karimnagar and Vadla Mallesham from Vikarabad district could not be more different from one another. But they, as do 3,15,258 others in Telangana, have one thing in common that binds them in misery-a seemingly interminable wait for getting Aasara pensions from the state government. While the official figure of those waiting to receive Aasara pensions from the state stands at 3,15,262, obtained through an RTI request filed by Rythu Swarajya Vedika, this number does not include nearly 7,80,000 old-age pension applications that got added to the pending list after the state government reduced the eligibility criteria to 57 years from 65 years. “This section of applicants saw the biggest rise,” said Bannuru Kondal Reddy, who filed the RTI inquiry, adding “nearly eight lakh additional applicants are not being reflected in the official records.” According to him, all nine categories of Aasara pension applicants are waiting for three and a half years for the succour. Currently, a total of 36,42,999 beneficiaries receive Aasara pensions, including 10,86,782 old-age pensions, 13,93,503 widows and 4,68,684 disabled persons with beneficiaries from other categories making up the rest.