Pension, Indiramma house applicants wary after 2023 applications fail to yield clarity

Fresh applications for Cheyutha pensions and Indiramma Houses in Hyderabad’s CURE region have triggered concerns among beneficiaries, with many apprehensive that the latest exercise could meet the same fate as applications collected under Praja Palana in December 2023.

Hyderabad: Going by past experiences, many people are apprehensive about the extension of pensions under the Cheyutha scheme and the allotment of Indiramma Houses in the Core Urban Region Economy (CURE).

In December 2023, soon after coming to power, the Congress government collected applications during Praja Palana programme from people. They were asked to apply for houses, pensions, 200 units of free power, ration cards and other benefits.
However, the status of the applications submitted in December 2023 remains unclear. Planning department officials claim that all the details were uploaded online.

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Nearly three years have passed since the applications were collected, and many more people may now be eligible for benefits under different categories. Hence, fresh applications are being sought from people, an official of the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty said.

The State government is inviting applications for pensions under different categories, including widow, differently-abled, toddy tappers, weavers, dialysis, filaria and single women.
The previous BRS government had extended pensions to nearly 43 lakh beneficiaries. The pension was initially Rs.1,000 and was later increased to Rs.2,016.

The Congress government is now inviting fresh applications to add more beneficiaries under the scheme. During the 2023 elections, the Congress had promised to increase the pension to Rs.4,000, but the promise has not been fulfilled so far. Officials are also unclear about the proposed enhancement, citing the absence of government orders.
Though people are filing applications, many are apprehensive about whether their applications will be processed and pensions sanctioned. Some are also worried that existing beneficiaries could be filtered out citing various reasons.

Similar concerns are being raised by applicants for Indiramma Houses over the allotment process. The Congress government had announced that one lakh houses would be constructed in the CURE region.
At present, only 7,340 houses are proposed in 16 constituencies. Beneficiaries are required to contribute Rs.6 lakh towards the construction of a 520 sq ft double-bedroom flat. August 10 was the last date for filing applications.

Till Sunday, officials said 35,125 applications had been filed, with each applicant paying Rs.10,000. Beneficiaries will be selected through a draw of lots, while the Rs.10,000 token amount will be refunded to those who are not selected.
Many applicants are apprehensive that, as happened with the applications collected in December 2023, the fresh exercise may also fail to translate into actual benefits, citing the State government’s financial situation.