The Hindu : Other States / Pondicherry News : Monthly assistance for aged increased by Rs. 75

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Thursday, May 05, 2005

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Other States - Pondicherry

Monthly assistance for aged increased by Rs. 75

Staff Reporter

Women and Child Development department conducting welfare schemes regularly

PONDICHERRY: The administration has increased the monthly assistance paid to aged persons (Old Age Pension) from Rs. 225 to Rs. 300, the Director of Women and Child Development, Devi Mathews, said.

She told The Hindu here on Wednesday that 90,000 persons were getting the assistance every month, entailing an expenditure of Rs. 2.7 crores a month.

The department covered 86,000 beneficiaries till recently and the number had now increased. The beneficiaries had to be sixty years and above.

Ms. Mathews said the department was implementing a number of welfare schemes, including the distribution of free garments to poor families. The total annual expenditure for the department was around Rs. 45 crores. The total number of beneficiaries was around 4.5 lakh people or 45 per cent of the total population of the Union Territory.

The National Family Benefit scheme, a Centrally-sponsored scheme, would be launched on May 18 and cover 1,500 families. Each family would receive Rs. 10,000 as solarium to mitigate the sufferings caused by the death of the breadwinner.

Ms. Mathews said that the department had conducted programmes for adults and children from the tsunami-hit villages of Pondicherry. Doctors, social workers and psychiatrists had given special lectures.

The department had also drawn up a plan to pay a monthly pension of Rs. 300 to unmarried aged women, those deserted by husbands, and eunuchs.

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Monthly assistance for aged increased by Rs. 75