SWD denies Rs 300 pension to 7000 poor


Mir TariqB
andipora, Jan 23: At least 7000 widows, handicapped and impoverished persons have not been paid pension of Rs 300 per months from June 2007 by the Social Welfare Department. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) pays a meager amount of Rs 300 every month to widows’, handicapped persons and destitute in different districts of Valley under the Integrated National Security (INS) scheme. Likewise about 7000 beneficiaries were registered from 98 villages of Bandipora and supposed to be paid Rs 300 per month by the SWD. The beneficiaries used to get the money from the Kamraz Rural Bank but since past six years, they have been left high and dry as the pension has not been disbursed to them.
80- year old Muhammad Rajab Wani of Aragam is disgusted over non disbursement of pension to them by SWD from past six months. “I received the pension six months back and since then I have been wandering from one office to another to get my pension released. I have even visited the Bank branch several times, but had to return empty handed as the money was not released in may favour by SWD”, said Wani. Muhammad Rajab and Wazeera Begum, 63, of Guzarbal were crying outside the SWD office here. “The department is playing pranks with us from past six months. They have not paid us the pension since past six months, pushing us to wall. We have been left high and dry and we don’t even have money to pay bus fare to return to our respective homes,” they said. The pension beneficiaries alleged that they are being mistreated by the clerical staff at SWD office, Bandipora. “They unnecessarily resort to dilly dallying tactics to deny us our pension”, the pensioners alleged. “I have been asked to furnish medical certificate to register my case under the INS security Scheme. I have already produced the same with Social Welfare Officer in 2003 but till date I have not been registered by department and no pension has been paid to me”, said a 30 year old handicap, Farooq Ahmad Hajam. He said that others like him too are being denied registration by the SWD officials and clerks on different pretexts. “Although the scheme has been established to help the poor but the people in the SWD are not ready to help us”, added Hajam. When contacted Social Welfare Officer Bandipora, Masarat Ahmed said, “Government is not releasing funds to us every month. We get the funds of one month after ever four months. This leads to delay in distribution of pension among the beneficiaries”. He said, “Hundreds of cases are under scrutiny and scores of cases are pending because of non availability of essential documents and papers required for the registration”. Masrat said that department is doing its best but the beneficiaries are not cooperating with them. The protests against non-payment of the pension has become a routine in Bandipora. Every now and then, the pensionsers took to roads and stage protest against the authorities for not disbursing pension among them.