AP govt to roll out widow pensions from June, marking NDA’s 2-year rule

Vijayawada: In a move to provide relief to the waiting applicants for welfare pensions, the state govt has decided to prioritise widow pensions under the expansion of social security schemes, with disbursals set to begin from June. The pension rollout is being positioned as a major welfare initiative to mark the occasion. At present, the "spouse pension" category is already in force, offering relief to families where a deceased pensioner's spouse continues to receive benefits. However, widows whose spouses were not beneficiaries of any pension scheme have remained outside the ambit so far. The latest decision seeks to address this gap by extending pensions to such eligible widows.The decision follows repeated representations from ruling party legislators to chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, urging him to clear long-pending widow pension applications. Responding to these requests, the govt has decided to sanction pensions to all eligible beneficiaries in one phase.According to estimates by the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty, or SERP, about 1.53 lakh widows across the state qualify for inclusion under the scheme. Each beneficiary will receive a monthly pension of Rs 4,000, entailing an additional financial burden of around Rs 61 crore per month on the state exchequer.A senior SERP official said the exercise is aimed at "ensuring that no eligible widow is left out of the social security net", adding that field-level verification through village and ward secretariats has largely been completed to facilitate a smooth rollout from June. In addition to widows, the govt is also likely to extend relief to differently abled persons who have been waiting for pension approvals. Around one lakh individuals who obtained disability certificates over the past two years are yet to be brought under the pension net. Their cases are expected to be cleared after the widow pension rollout.NRI affairs and SERP minister Kondapalli Srinivas said the govt is committed to inclusive welfare. "The focus is on reaching those who are left out so far. Clearing widow pensions is on the top of the govt's agenda. We are also considering clearing the applications of differently abled pensions in the next phase in a transparent manner," he said. He said that detailed operational guidelines, including timelines for sanction and disbursal, will be issued shortly as the govt moves to implement the decision in mission mode.
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