Bhubaneswar: BJD Tuesday alleged the BJP government in Odisha had neither fulfilled its promise to raise the old-age pension to Rs 3,500 per month nor ensured regular payment to beneficiaries.
It alleged that lakhs of beneficiaries did not receive their monthly old age pension and other such benefits under several social security schemes between April and June.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said lakhs of elderly people were facing immense difficulties due to the delay and alleged that the state government was not taking any steps to resolve the issue.
“From April to June, around 20 lakh beneficiaries did not receive their monthly pension of Rs 1,000. Amid widespread condemnation, the state government stated that the delay in the disbursement of the pension was due to technical or software-related problems,” he said.
Although the government subsequently claimed that the disbursement of old age pensions had become normal after rectifying the technical problem, BJD alleged that reports are still coming in from different parts of the state that old age pensions are not being received on time.
Mohanty said most beneficiaries use the pension to buy medicines and daily essentials, and any delay in receiving the amount causes them considerable hardship.
The BJD leader also claimed that more than 7 lakh applications seeking inclusion in the old age pension beneficiary list were pending with the state government.
“The BJP had promised in its election manifesto that it would increase the old age pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,500 per month. However, after coming to power, the BJP has forgotten this promise. Far from increasing the pension of the beneficiaries, they are not even being provided the pension regularly,” Mohanty alleged.
Responding to the allegation, a BJP leader said, “There may be certain local issues. But the old age pensions are being disbursed to the beneficiaries in the middle of every month.”
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