The All India Congress Committee (AICC) recently highlighted the pension scheme of the Jharkhand government led by Hemant Soren, calling it a “momentum” in the construction of social security in India. AICC general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said that Jharkhand shows the way to India, as he praised the efforts of the JMM-Congress coalition government in the state, which will be voted by Parliament on November 13 and November 20. .
What is Jharkhand pension scheme?
The Jharkhand government pays a sum of Rs 1,000 per month to all eligible pensioners under five categories: Old Age Pension Scheme, Most Vulnerable Pension Scheme, Destitute Women Pension Scheme, HIV-AIDS Pension Scheme, and Disability Pension Scheme.
Different states provide pensions to a large number of people. However, Jharkhand, with a population of around 4 crore, is one of the leading states on this point as it provides a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 in various categories to more than 40 lakh people – more than 10% of its population.
What is important about the Jharkhand system?
First, the Soren government increased the pension given by the Center under the National Social Assistance Program (NSAP) to Rs 1,000. The agency provides pension to 12.43 lakh beneficiaries in Jharkhand under three categories – Old Age Pension, Widows Pension and Disability Pension – with an amount ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 500.
The Jharkhand government is putting forward a bill to enhance the NSAP pension to Rs 1,000, paying for the additional fund required for it. For example, the Center provides an old-age pension of Rs 200 per person to 8.86 lakh people between the ages of 60-79 and Rs 500 per person to 73,803 people aged 80 and above. The Jharkhand government spends Rs 850.91 crore and Rs 44.28 crore annually on these two groups under NSAP to increase their pension amount to Rs 1,000 per beneficiary.
The institute provides a monthly pension of Rs 300 under widow and disability pension, covering 2.88 lakh people in the state. The Jharkhand government has an additional expenditure of Rs 240.40 crore to increase their pension amount to Rs 1,000.
The Soren government has added as many as 27.57 lakh beneficiaries to the pension basket under various categories in the last four years – giving each person Rs 1,000 per month – and continues to add more people, paying them from the state fund. The government has also earmarked Rs 100 crore as a fund to pay the pensioners in case of delay in issuing the facility.
Were there any hiccups in performance?
Apart from the Jharkhand government’s initiative to run the “Sarkar Aapke Dwar” program – doorstep delivery of government schemes – three times in all districts covering most of the panchayats, there have been gaps in the coverage of the pension scheme due to poor Aadhaar compatibility. data leading to the exclusion of multiple beneficiaries. Sources said that despite the government’s efforts, thousands were left out of the pension system as some data discrepancies, such as age, could not be corrected many times resulting in their accounts not being opened. There are many widows who are excluded from the pension scheme due to the difficulty of obtaining the death certificates of their husbands.
Some activists had written to the former Minister of Women, Children, Development and Social Security, Jobha Manjhi to empower village chiefs to verify the age or death of husbands among others to speed up the resolution of pensioners’ grievances. However, the government has not accepted their proposal so far.