Bhubaneswar: Senior citizens aged 80 years and above, as well as individuals with more than 80% disability, will receive a monthly pension of Rs 3,500, effective from Jan. A state cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Mohan Majhi on Friday approved a proposal to increase the amount from the current Rs 1,200, bringing cheer to thousands of beneficiaries across the state.
Briefing media persons after the cabinet meeting, chief secretary Manoj Ahuja said that in its annual budget presented in July last year, the govt announced plans to raise the pension amount for the two categories under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY) and National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). Govt has allocated Rs 7,600 crore under the two schemes.
In his budget speech, the CM said the increase is being implemented for the two categories in the first phase and would be extended to other categories of beneficiaries at a later stage. Around 35 lakh people, including senior citizens, persons with disabilities, widows, unmarried women and cured leprosy patients, are covered under the scheme. They receive a monthly pension in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,400.
BJP, in its election manifesto, had promised to hike the pensions under various social security schemes to Rs 3.500.TNN