Social welfare schemes | Discontinuation of allowances causing hardship to beneficiaries: Sagar

Srinagar, Feb 29:  National Conference General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar on Thursday said that discontinuation of monthly allowances under various social welfare schemes is leading to unwarranted inconvenience and hardship to the beneficiaries.

In a statement, he lamented the termination of allowances to concerned beneficiaries under various social welfare schemes. Sagar said, “The administration is leaving no stone unturned to harass the poor and marginalised sections of our society. It began with  online verification and since then on one pretext or another thousands of  beneficiaries are being denied monthly pension despite them making several trips to the concerned offices. As if deaths and the travails of those who had lined up to confirm their identities were not sufficient, the government has now completely terminated the welfare schemes.”

The NC leader  added that government’s claims on ensuring social security net for all and better living standard to every citizen have fallen flat. “Most of the beneficiaries need to get the required documents, such as domicile certificate, age certificate, Aadhaar, and disability certificate, to register on the SUGAM portal to benefit from the social welfare pension scheme. They are being forced to move from office to office but even after many months they have not received their pension. Before 2022, nearly three lakh beneficiaries used to receive pension under various Social welfare schemes. At present however the number has drastically come down with the number of such beneficiaries touching zero in seven districts,” Sagar said.