Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 19 : The Karnataka Revenue Department has issued an order to continue pensions for eligible beneficiaries under the Social Security Pension Scheme whose annual income, after verification, is between Rs 32,000 and Rs 1,20,000.
Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G Parameshwara said the decision resolves a long-pending demand of the people.
"For various social security pensions, including old-age pension, widow pension and disability pension, the annual income limit was Rs 32,000. This ceiling had remained unchanged for a long time, and lakhs of people were excluded from pension benefits. By raising the annual income limit to Rs 1.20 lakh, we have addressed a long-standing issue," Parameshwara said.
According to the department, when data from the Family Database was matched with pension beneficiary records, 23,14,544 beneficiaries were flagged as 'doubtful cases'.
To conduct physical verification, the 'Sanyojane' mobile app was launched. During the process, pensions of 18,06,032 beneficiaries were temporarily suspended as they either failed to submit required documents, were not found at the given address, or did not provide income certificates.
After verification by Village Administrative Officers through the app, Taluk Tahsildars have been directed to verify as per rules and ensure pensions reach eligible beneficiaries.
It was found during verification of the 23,14,544 doubtful cases that their annual income exceeded Rs 32,000.
Following instructions from Parameshwara, the department has now ordered that pensions be continued for those among the 23,14,544 whose annual income is more than Rs 32,000 and up to Rs 1,20,000, subject to rule-based verification.