The Andhra Pradesh state government would release new pensions in the state soon. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had directed the officials to identify new pensioners across the state. He said that the NDA had promised new pensions for SC, ST, BC and Minorities above 50 years of age. There are 15 lakh people in the state in the age group of 50 to 60 years, the chief minister said.
The chief minister directed the officials of Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) to work on modalities to release new pensions. He also told the officials that the previous YSR Congress government had given pensions to ineligible persons. Several ineligible persons were given pension during the last five years, he said.
The chief minister held a review meeting with the SERP on Thursday. He also discussed about the zero interest loans to the Self-Help Groups in the state. The state government had promised to give Rs 15 lakh zero interest loans to every SHG. The officials told the chief minister that this programme would cost Rs 5,000 crore per year.
The chief minister also directed the officials to work on modalities for the financial support to women. The TDP had promised to give Rs 1500 per month to every woman in the age group of 18 to 59 years.
The loans given to the SHGs were diverted by the previous YSR Congress government, said the Minister for SERP Kodapalli Srinivas. He said that the previous government had diverted Rs 3,050 crore in the last five years. The present government would order an enquiry into this charge, the minister said.
The previous YSR Congress government had also promoted fake SHGs in the state and given loans to them. The government neglected the SHGs and promoted the fake SHGs through which money was circulated. He said that the present government would also order investigation into these fake SHGs issue.
