KAKINADA : Five days have passed, but there seems to be no end to difficulties of pensioners in East Godavari district. Out of the total 4.75 lakh pensioners, only 3.35 lakh have got the social security benefit deposited in their bank accounts so far. The remaining 1.4 lakh beneficiaries are making rounds of the banks and ATMs for pension.
The delay in payment of pensions to the 1.4 lakh beneficiaries is largely attributed to technical reasons and lack of bank accounts to pensioners. In Rampachodavaram and Chintoor agency areas, about 66,000 beneficiaries do not have bank accounts. It was also noticed that several beneficiaries did not submit their bank account and Aadhaar numbers and IFSC code link correctly.
Already, the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) has informed the Municipal Commissioners and MPDOs the particulars of about 7,000 beneficiaries in this regard. Till Monday, the officials completed the opening of new bank accounts for nearly 60 per cent of beneficiaries. The remaining beneficiaries will be covered soon. The officials are planning to deposit two months pension amount in the bank accounts of beneficiaries who are yet to get the social security benefit.
They are also taking measures to distribute pensions to all the eligible beneficiaries through other modes.
“We have already sent the list of 7,000 beneficiaries to all municipal commissioners and MPDOs to check whether the beneficiaries have submitted the bank account and Aadhaar numbers and IFSC code correctly or not. If minute lapses are there, they have been directed to correct them and link the bank accounts with correct Aadhaar numbers which will enable the beneficiaries to withdraw pension from their accounts,” S Malli Babu, Project Director of DRDA, said.
Though the district received `200 crore from the Reserve Bank India, the situation has not normalised yet. About 65 per cent of ATMs are still displaying ‘No Cash’ boards. The bank staff are also requesting the account holders not to withdraw more than `5,000 from their accounts because of cash crunch.
Meanwhile, the district administration is conducting a massive campaign to promote awareness among people about cashless transactions. JNTUK and Adikavi Nannaya University (AKNU) and other educational institutions are extending their support to the authorities in promoting awareness among people about the e-payment system to overcome the cash crunch. Across the district, 12,000 citizens have downloaded mobile apps for cashless transactions.