The All India Congress Committee (AICC) recently highlighted the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government’s pension scheme, calling it a “ground-breaking moment” in India’s social security architecture. The AICC’s general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said Jharkhand is showing the path ahead for India, even as he praised the efforts of the JMM-Congress coalition government in the state, which is going to the Assembly polls on November 13 and November 20. .
What is Jharkhand pension scheme?
The Jharkhand government pays an amount of Rs 1,000 per month to all eligible pensioners across five categories: Old Age Pension scheme, Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group Pension scheme, Destitute Women Pension scheme, HIV-AIDS Patient Pension scheme, and Disability Pension scheme.
Various states give pensions to a large number of people. However, Jharkhand, which has an estimated population of 4 crore, is one of the leading states on this score as it gives Rs 1,000 monthly pension in various categories to more than 40 lakh people – more than 10% of its population.
What is significant about the Jharkhand scheme?
First, the Soren government has increased the pension provided by the Center under the National Social Assistance Program (NSAP) to Rs 1,000. The Center gives pension to 12.43 lakh beneficiaries in Jharkhand under three categories – Old Age Pension, Widow Pension and Disability Pension – with the amount ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 500.
The Jharkhand government foots the bill to enhance the NSAP pension to Rs 1,000, paying for the extra fund required for it. For instance, the Center gives an old age pension of Rs 200 each to 8.86 lakh people in the age bracket of 60-79 years and Rs 500 each to 73,803 people aged 80 years and above. The Jharkhand government spends Rs 850.91 crore and Rs 44.28 crore annually for these two groups under the NSAP in order to increase their pension amount to Rs 1,000 per beneficiary.
The Center gives Rs 300 monthly pension under the Widows Pension and Disability Pension, covering 2.88 lakh people in the state. The Jharkhand government bears an additional cost of Rs 240.40 crore to increase their pension amount to Rs 1,000.
The Soren government has added 27.57 lakh more beneficiaries in the pension basket under various categories in the last four years – giving each Rs 1,000 per month – and continues to add more people, paying them from the state’s fund. The government has also marked Rs 100 crore as revolving fund to pay the pension beneficiaries in case the Centre’s disbursal is delayed.
Have there been any hiccups in implementation?
Despite the Jharkhand government’s move to conduct the “Sarkar Aapke Dwar” program – the doorstep delivery of government schemes – thrice in all districts involving a majority of the panchayats, there have been gaps in the coverage of the pension scheme due to mismatch in the Aadhaar data leading to the exclusion of many beneficiaries. Sources said that despite the state’s efforts, thousands have been out of the pension scheme as certain discrepancies in data, such as age, could not be rectified in many cases leading to non-opening of their bank accounts. Many widows have been excluded from the pension umbrella due to the cumbersome process of obtaining the death certificates of their husbands.
Some activists had written to former Women, Child, Development and Social Security Minister Jobha Manjhi to empower the village headmen to attest for the correctness of age or husbands’ deaths among others for expediting the redressal of the pension beneficiaries’ grievances. However, the government has not accepted their suggestion so far.