Punjab on Sunday started the process of disbursement of doubled Social Security Pension, to the tune of Rs 1,500, from August 1 with the budgetary allocation of Rs 4000 crore. “A total 26,21,201 eligible beneficiaries of the State would be benefited with the increased pensions,” said the state Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Aruna Chaudhary. After the approval of the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to increase the social security monthly pension from Rs 750 to Rs 1,500, the notification was issued by the Department of Social Security, Women and Child Development effective from July 1 and now the payment process has been started in the month of August.
Notably, a budgetary outlay of Rs 4,000 crore has been allocated for the financial year 2021-22 in view of the double monthly pension, which signifies an increase of 72 percent from 2020-21 budgetary expenditure of Rs 2,320 crore.
Meanwhile, the Social Security pensions amounting to Rs 2,089 crore were disbursed in 2019-20 and Rs 2,277 crore in 2020-21, which was three times more than the amount of Rs 747 crore provided as pensions by the previous SAD-BJP government in the year 2016-17.
“A total of 25.55 lakh beneficiaries, including 13 lakh beneficiaries belonging to Scheduled Castes, have been provided pension during the year 2020-21,” she added.
Chaudhary said that out of total 26,21,201 beneficiaries of the State, 17,64,909 old age pensioners, 4,90,539 widows and destitute women, 2,09,110 persons with disabilities and 1,56,643 dependent children would be benefited with the double amount of pensions.