Hyderabad: The single woman pension scheme introduced by the state is getting a great response. The government has asked single women to submit applications from May 8. Applications are being accepted in all Mee Seva centres, MRO and RDO offices.
Within three days, the number of applications filed touched the 50,000 mark. Officials expect the number to cross the 3 lakh mark before the deadline of May 13 is reached. A pension of Rs 1,000 per month will be given that will be credited directly in the bank account of the beneficiary.
The government has directed officials to take up verification of applicants from May 15. Minister Jupally Krishna Rao asked officials to form special teams to scrutinise the applications and take up ground-level inspection to identify beneficiaries.
As per the intensive household survey conducted by the state government last year, there were about 2.4 lakh single women in 2014. The government issued orders sanctioning Rs 300 crore to pay pension to single women for the remaining months of this fiscal from June 2017 to March 2018.
The amount for April and May will be paid when the scheme is formally launched on June 2, Telangana state formation day. Officials have been directed to finalise the list of beneficiaries and open bank accounts for all of them by May 25. Instructions have been issued not to disburse the amount in cash.
