VIJAYAWADA: The YSRC government implementing its mega agenda to woo all sections of the society under Mission 2024 Elections has sanctioned a new set of pensions under YSR Pension Kanuka. This will benefit 3.10 lakh people in the state.
The total coverage under social security pensions thus went up to 62,79,486.
The YSRC government would disburse pensions all today (August 1), including the 3.10 lakh new beneficiaries. This is the first time that the government has sanctioned pensions to lakhs of people at a time.
YSRC legislators were mingling with the masses, resolving their issues under the Gadapa Gadapaku Mana Prabhutvam mass contact programme. During the course of this, they are receiving requests for resolution of various issues including pensions.
Political analysts say that there was unrest among the people who were barred from getting pensions. This was evident as several people revolted against local YSRC leaders during the ongoing mass contact programme.
They recalled that sanction of a new social security pension was impossible until the death of the existing pensioners. During the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam government, and the late YS Rajasekhar Reddy during his election campaign in 2004 too, highlighted the problem in sanctioning new pensions.
The analysts further recalled that besides Arogyasri, fee reimbursement, free power and other schemes, sanction of new social security pension helped the YSR win the election in 2004 and to regain power in 2009. Every vote counts in the elections. Hence, the present large-scale sanctioning of (3.10 lakh) pensions would be advantageous to Chief Minister Jagan Reddy and his YSRC in the 2024 elections.
According to the reports, over 15,000 grievances were received by YSRC legislators during the ongoing Gadapa Gadapaku Mana Prabhutvam mass contact programme, regarding pensions, houses, ration cards, absence of welfare schemes like Amma Vodi etc.
Now, as the government is sanctioning the 3.10 lakh new pensions, the YSRC leaders are hopeful of resolving other issues which would help them gather support of the masses to the YSRC under the ‘Mission 2024 Elections’.
Deputy chief minister and minister for Panchayat Raj and rural development Mutyala Naidu said 62.79 lakh pensions are payable between August 1 and 5, for which a sum of `1596.77 crore was released to the village/ward secretariats. The money will be reached to the doorsteps of the pensioners through Pensioner Biometric Authentication, IRIS Authentication, Real-time Identification of Beneficiary System (RBIS) – the Pensioner Facial Authentication.
Naidu explained that 2.66 lakh volunteers and 15,000 welfare education assistants/ward welfare development secretaries will take part in the pensions disbursement. In all districts, Call Centers will be opened in the DRDA Office to monitor the disbursement.
The highest number of pensions, 3,15,425, was in Srikakulam while it was 3,07,597 in Nellore districts and 1,21,372 in Alluri Sitarama Raju district.
