The Uttar Pradesh government will conduct an intensive verification of all beneficiaries under the Nirashrit Mahila Pension Yojana. State Principal Secretary of Women Welfare, Leena Johri, has issued orders to all divisional commissioners and district magistrates across the state to complete the verification process by May 25.

As part of the drive, pensions of deceased and ineligible beneficiaries will be discontinued with immediate effect. Eligible beneficiaries will be regularly informed about their payment status through SMS notifications, officials here said on Saturday.

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Additionally, Aadhaar authentication has been made mandatory for all women receiving benefits under the scheme. The objective of this exercise is to ensure that only genuinely eligible women receive the benefits of the pension programme.

The verification work will be completed in three stages. In the first stage, the verification of beneficiaries must be finished by May 10. In the second stage, by May 15, a signed list along with the report must be submitted to the District Probation Officer. In the third and final stage, by May 25, the pensions of deceased and ineligible beneficiaries must be stopped.

The entire process will be carried out under the supervision of the District Magistrate. If any irregularities are found during the verification, strict action will be taken against the responsible officers and employees. The District Magistrate must ensure that the verification is done seriously and thoroughly.

Women who are over 18 years of age, permanent residents of Uttar Pradesh, whose husbands have passed away, and whose family’s annual income is not more than Rs 2 lakh are eligible for the scheme.

The pension amount is directly transferred to the beneficiaries’ Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. Under the scheme, in the year 2016-17, a pension of Rs 500 per month was given to each beneficiary. From 2021-22 onwards, the pension amount was increased to Rs 1,000 per month.

In 2016-17, around 17.31 lakh women were getting the benefit of the scheme after the death of their husbands. In just eight years, 16.83 lakh new women beneficiaries have been added to the scheme.

From the current financial year, Aadhaar-based payment has been started for beneficiaries. Now, more than 34 lakh women are receiving pension benefits under the scheme.