A proposal on extending the ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme and providing rice at Rs 1 per kg to families of endosulfan sufferers was submitted to the state government, DK Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim said on Thursday.
He was speaking at a programme organised to distribute ‘stipend certificates’ (declaring the holder eligible to receive pension) to victims of endosulfan poisoning at Manchi in Bantwal taluk. He said the proposal on extending Anna Bhagya, if approved by the state government, will help in supporting these families.
“The government has initiated the process of releasing pensions to endosulfan sufferers as per the High Court’s interim order,” he said. A pension was fixed at Rs 3,000 per month to victims with above 60 per cent disability and Rs 2,000 to those with disability between 40 and 60 per cent.
“The pension will be deposited at the nearest nationalised bank branches through RTGS (real-time gross settlement) system,” he explained. Ibrahim said among 1,815 victims identified by the department, 2,479 victims were already receiving pensions from the government.