The Tamil Nadu Cabinet on Saturday decided to enhance the monthly pension provided to over 30 lakh people under various social security schemes to Rs 1,200 from Rs 1,000. The cabinet also decided to include the “eligible” among 75 lakh people who have applied before the government for receiving a pension from August.
Chairing the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister M K Stalin asked ministers to visit the camps that will be held to enrol beneficiaries for the ambitious Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam (Rs 1,000 assistance to women heads of families) and ensure that no eligible person is left out of the scheme. Stalin later took to Twitter to announce that he will be launching one of the camps from Dharmapuri on July 24.
Briefing reporters on the Cabinet decisions, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu said over 30.55 lakh people who receive monthly pensions under various social security schemes will get benefitted from the increase.
“The Old Age Pension has been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200. This will incur an additional annual expenditure of Rs 845.91 crore to the state’s exchequer,” Thennarasu said, adding that monthly pensions are disbursed under nine schemes, while the Union government contributes between Rs 200 and Rs 500 in three of them.
He said the Cabinet also decided to add more beneficiaries to social security schemes. “About 75 lakh applications are pending before the government from people to be included in various pension schemes. Applications of those eligible for pension will be approved and they will be included in the scheme,” the minister added.
It is to be noted that the government increased the assistance provided to physically challenged persons to Rs 1,500 from Rs 1,000 in January, Thennarasu said. On the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam, the minister said while the camps have already begun in Chennai, they will be conducted in the rest of the state from July 24 and added that over 35,000 camps will be held across the state.
Officials said the government believes that about 1 crore women like street vendors, fisherwomen, housemaids, and construction workers among many other categories will get the assistance.
The scheme, which will be rolled out on September 15 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of DMK founder C N Annadurai, has come under criticism of the Opposition parties who have criticised the eligibility criteria announced by the government. While the DMK manifesto said all women heads of families will get assistance of Rs 1,000 per month, the party, after coming to power, said it will be a “targeted scheme.”
The government had recently released the eligibility criteria excluding taxpayers, government servants, families owning four-wheelers, elected representatives, business owners who pay GST, and families that consume over 3,600-unit electricity per year among others from the scheme.