Old-age pensioners in Kargil have had to run from pillar to post to receive the amount they are entitled to from Government authorities
Huddled near the thup (traditional hearth) in a dimly-lit room, 63-year-old Tashi Palmo eyes the stranger in her house with a mixed expression. Her small house in a remote village of Kargil district receives few visitors. The widow raises her eyebrows and asks, “Yearang social pa inaIJ” (Are you from the social welfare departmentIJ) A no for an answer dashes her hopes yet again — she has been expecting someone from the department to turn up.
Three years ago, Palmo, a resident of Garkhone village, nearly 90km from Kargil town, had applied for the old age pension scheme. For a woman abandoned by her children and forced to live on the occasional charity of her neighbours, such Government schemes are her only ray of hope.
The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme launched under the National Social Assistance Programme was sought to help women like Palmo who belong to financially weaker sections in rural areas. The NSAP which came into effect on August 15, 1995, introduced a National Policy for Social Assistance for the poor and aims at ensuring minimum national standard for social assistance in addition to the benefits that States are currently providing or might provide in future. Palmo, despite having applied for the scheme for three years now, is yet to receive the benefits of the scheme.
The Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, implemented under the social welfare schemes, entitles elderly people (60 years and above) who are below the poverty line, to receive a princely sum of Rs200 per month.
While the social welfare department of Kargil claims to have reached out to beneficiaries located in the farthest of villages in Kargil, people like Palmo reveal the other side of the story. “I have submitted every document required for the qualification but haven't received any income from the welfare department”, rues Palmo.
Fatima Banoo, daughter of a 61-year-old widow Zainab from Kartse Khar village, claims her mother has not received any sum for the last two years despite having applied for the scheme. Zainab, like Palmo, lives alone and has no one but her unemployed daughter to provide for her, and waits with little hope for the Government officials to take action on her application.
The majority of widows and elderly in the far-off villages are completely oblivious to any schemes available as the department has failed noticeably to move past the urban borders. The vigilant ones like Palmo have their own share of difficulties. The social welfare department has been very unfair, they assert, in accepting applications from the beneficiaries.
Another major reason for them to remain excluded from the beneficiaries' list is their inability to have regular access to the welfare departments owing to the long distances. Despite having ample funds to support their beneficiaries, the social welfare department remains limited to the accessible areas only. Consequently, widows and elderly cannot afford to travel everyday to the department offices to follow up on their claims, only to be sent back empty handed. For an individual like Palmo with almost nothing to survive on, travelling such a long distance and paying an amount of more than Rs200, only to return unsuccessful, seems virtually hopeless.
During the last Assembly session, the State Government had given an assurance after CPI(M) legislator MY Targami had decided to press a Private Member resolution seeking increase in the financial assistance to widows, old-aged people and other persons.While the State Government has doubled the salaries of legislators in the last four years, no heed has been paid towards the plight of widows.
There is little to show for the schemes other than the good intentions mentioned on Government websites. The tedious task of travelling long distances, pleading several times before the concerned officers and, if lucky, getting an amount that would barely compensate for the hard work invested, defeats the very purpose of these schemes. In such a situation, the struggle for life of this destitute lot continues silently.