UP to verify beneficiaries of pension scheme for destitute women to remove ineligible enrollees

Lucknow, The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday said it will verify the beneficiaries of the pension scheme for destitute women with the aim to remove dead and ineligible people from its list.

Principal secretary of department of women's welfare, Leena Johri, has issued orders to all divisional commissioners and district magistrates to complete the verification of beneficiaries of Nirashrit Mahila Pension Yojana by May 25, a statement said.

Under the scheme, women who are over 18 years of age and are permanent residents of UP, whose husbands have passed away, and whose family's annual income is not more than ₹2 lakh are eligible for a pension amount of ₹1,000 per month.

The entire process will be carried out under the supervision of the district magistrate.

The verification work will be completed in three stages. In the first stage, the verification of beneficiaries must be finished by May 10. By May 15, a signed list along with the report must be submitted to the district probation officer and by May 25, the pensions of deceased and ineligible beneficiaries must be stopped.

Currently, around 34 lakh women have been enrolled under the scheme, the government said.

Aadhaar authentication has been made mandatory for all women receiving benefits under the scheme. The objective of this exercise is to ensure that only genuinely eligible women receive the benefits of the pension programme.

Eligible beneficiaries will be regularly informed about their payment status through SMS notifications, the statement said.

The pension amount is directly transferred to the beneficiary's Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. Under the scheme, in the year 2016-17, a pension of ₹500 per month was given to each beneficiary. From 2021-22 onwards, the pension amount was increased to ₹1000 per month.

From the current financial year, Aadhaar-based payment has been started for beneficiaries, the statement said.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.