VIJAYAWADA: About 61.75 lakh beneficiaries of YSR Pension Kanuka will receive an enhanced amount of Rs 2,500 per month from January 1. The state government has released Rs 1,570.60 crore for the purpose. The government has also sanctioned pensions for 1.41 lakh persons for the month of January.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will formally launch the distribution of the enhanced pension at Prathipadu of Guntur district on January 1. As per the promise made during electioneering in 2019, the Chief Minister has enhanced the monthly pension amount from Rs 2,250 to Rs 2,500. He had signed the file to enhance the pension to Rs 3,000 in a phased manner, immediately, after swearing in as the CM.
In a release issued on Thursday, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy said the distribution of the pension will be held for five days. Stating that the expenditure on the pensions after the enhancement will rise to Rs 20,000 crore a year from Rs 18,000 crore, the Minister said the government has spent Rs 45,000 crore on pensions after Jagan took charge as the CM.
He further said that while the previous government gave pensions to 39 lakh persons, the number of beneficiaries have now increased by 18.36 lakh. The previous government spent Rs 400 crore per month, whereas it was more than Rs 1,400 crore per month in the initial days of the formation of the YSRC government, and it has now escalated to Rs 1,570 crore per month, he said. He said that 2.66 lakh volunteers will distribute the pensions at the doorstep of the beneficiaries.