Amarinder govt to bring white paper on Badal govt’s financial mess
Accusing the previous Parkash Singh Badal government of leaving behind a "financial mess", the Punjab government on Tuesday said it…
Beneficiaries of various social welfare schemes in Punjab will have to wait for their pensions due from April till reverification of the list of beneficiaries.
The Captain Amarinder Singh government has released an amount of Rs 224.70 Crore to clear the backlog of pensions due to beneficiaries under various social welfare schemes for the months of February and March 2017.
The money, released by the state finance department on the directive of Chief Minister (CM) Captain Amarinder, will be used by the social security department for disbursement of pension to the elderly, disabled, destitute and widows, according to an official spokesperson.
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But for payment of pensions from April onwards, the Chief Minister (CM) had ordered reverification of the list of beneficiaries soon after taking over the reins of the government in order to weed out fake names.
"Verification of beneficiaries to ensure that only the genuine and deserving persons get the benefit of pension is under process for payment from April onwards," said the spokesperson.
The spokesperson, however, maintained that the CM was committed to ensuring timely release of social security pensions to the beneficiaries.
The chief secretary has been entrusted with the task of keeping tabs on the entire process to prevent any harassment or suffering to the underprivileged people due to official apathy in this regard, said the spokesperson.
"In line with the promises made in the election manifesto, the Captain Amarinder government has enhanced old age, disabled, destitute and widow pension from Rs 500 to Rs 750 per month," the spokesperson added.
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