HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday instructed officials to credit the Cheyutha pension amount directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries instead of distributing it through the Postal department.
The Telangana Cheyutha Scheme is a social welfare and pension programme that provides financial, medical and social security to vulnerable and weaker sections of society.
During a review meeting with officials of the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development department, the chief minister directed officials to streamline the pension distribution system in the state and ensure that benefits reach only eligible beneficiaries.
He said that pension disbursal should be streamlined using voter ID, Aadhaar and SEEEPC data to eliminate irregularities and ensure transparency.
Priority to single women in sanctioning new pensions
Revanth Reddy also directed officials to give top priority to single women while sanctioning new pensions. He emphasised that welfare schemes must reach genuinely deserving sections without delay.
He also said that steps should be taken to ensure that salaries are credited on the first day of every month to the 50,000 gram panchayat employees across the state.
“Just as IAS officers receive their salaries on time every month, gram panchayat staff should also be paid without delay. The state government will specially allocate Rs 50 crore every month for payment of salaries to panchayat staff. Employees working under outsourcing and contract systems in all government departments should also receive salaries on the first day of every month,” he said.
The chief minister agreed to restore the provision removed by the previous government, which weakened the financial autonomy of gram panchayats over their own revenues.
Officials were directed to amend Section 70(3) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, so that gram panchayats can deposit their Own Source Revenue (OSR) into bank accounts instead of treasury accounts.