CHENNAI: People living with HIV (PLHIV) allege that revenue department officials have stopped their widow pensions for the last eight months citing various reasons including being in possession of two LPG cylinders. In Chennai and neighbouring districts alone, around 300 women living with HIV have been affected, said activists.
P Kousalya, president of Positive Women Network, said that around 50,000 women are undergoing anti-retroviral therapy (ART), of which 30% are eligible for Rs 1,000 monthly under the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS). They have been availing it so far, but now, pensions have been stopped for around 300 women in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur, said Kousalya.
Parimala (name changed) said, “I was getting Rs 1,000 monthly. Pensions have been stopped for the past eight months because I had two LPG cylinders. I work as a domestic help. My two children are studying in a government school. I lost my husband to HIV 13 years ago. I am struggling to make ends meet,” she added.
A senior revenue department official told TNIE, if the VAO or revenue inspector during their field visits find the applicants’ living condition being above BPL standards, then they become ineligible for availing the pension scheme.