CHENNAI: Leaky roof, contaminated water, loss of livelihood... You name it and the residents of Perumbakkam Slum Board Tenements, who were relocated from different slum areas in the city, have seen it all. Now, the residents allege that many elderly people and widows have been cheated with false promises of securing widow and elderly pension.
Many residents claim despite completing all formalities with the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB), they are still not receiving pension. “Taking advantage of our desperation, people within the local community who claim to have political connections, approach these elderly residents and widows with a false promise to secure the benefit at a cost of Rs 2,000 per person,” said K Nallathambi, head of public welfare federation.
Nallathambi said they received complaints months after people had allegedly been cheated. “Close to 100 residents who were relocated in 2020 have been affected by this,” said Nallathambi. The Public Welfare Federation has also written to the TNSCB, urging them to identify and arrest the culprits. The residents said the benefits do not reach them as there is a delay in changing the Aadhaar details.
“Even people with disability are not getting pension in priority. Karumari Gnanaprakasam, a widow and who is speech and hearing impaired, reached us for help. We have urged authorities to hold regular camps to help the residents get their security benefits,” said Nallathambi. Many residents rue they still have to travel 25 km to get their benefits.
When contacted, officials with TNSCB said that they are holding camps for the elderly, widows and people with disabilities to get their security benefits regularly. “We urge people to attend these camps and get their documents corrected and to not believe any private parties who claim to arrange pension benefits for them,” said an official.