HYDERABAD: The State government has enhanced the amount to be paid for the beneficiaries of Aasara pension on Tuesday. The enhanced amount would be paid with effect from June. The amount for the month of June will be paid in July. The move was an election promise of the ruling TRS. Though the TRS had assured to hike the Aasara pension amount from April, the actual implementation has been delayed by two months. The orders were issued by Vikas Raj, principal secretary of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development.
The TRS government has been paying the social security pension from October 2014. The pension amounts have been hiked from the existing Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,016 per month, to all types of beneficiaries like old age, widow, weavers, toddy tappers, persons with HIV/AIDS, beedi workers, single woman and filaria patients. The amount is hiked from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,016 for disabled persons. According to sources in the Finance Department, the burden on the State government with regard to Aasara pensions annually would be around Rs 12,000 crore.