VIJAYAWADA: Stating that staff at the Village and Ward Secretariats will deliver social security pensions to the doorstep of the beneficiaries on the first of July, Minister for Social Welfare, Disabled and Senior Citizens’ Welfare, Sachivalayam and Volunteers Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy clarified that the government is not removing volunteers.
After taking charge at the Secretariat on Wednesday, the minister recounted, “After the Election Commission of India issued an order preventing volunteers from disbursing pensions to the beneficiaries, the previous YSRC government and officials had turned a deaf ear to our appeals asking them to distribute aid to the beneficiaries through the Secretariat staff. Instead, pensioners were asked to collect the money from Secretariats and banks.” He declared that the TDP-led NDA government will prove that pensions can be door-delivered efficiently through the Village and Ward Secretariat staff.
Later, he held a meeting with his department officials and instructed them to complete the process of disbursing pensions at the doorsteps of the beneficiaries in a day or two. He asked all the secretariat staff to take part in the exercise.
Pointing out that some volunteers, who resigned before the elections, have not surrendered mobile phones and SIM cards, Swamy asked officials to recover the phones and initiate action against such volunteers. He also instructed the officials to submit a report on the secretariats which were constructed away from villages.
Further, Swamy said Rs 3,573.22 crore funds were kept pending by the previous regime on all the schemes pertaining to his departments. He asserted that the NDA government under the leadership of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will meet the expectations of people on welfare and development.