IMPHAL, July 23: State Assembly Speaker Th Lokeshwar distributed pension schemes to beneficiaries of Khundrapkam constituency at the Sagolmang Keithel.
Pensions under the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension scheme were distributed to 73 widows for the duration of November 2010 to June 2011 amounting to Rs 1600 per widow, while under the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme for the period of November 2010 to May 2011 were distributed to eight beneficiaries with the total amounting to Rs 1400 for one person.
The local MLA had also distributed pensions under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme for the period of Nov 2010 to June 2011 (and a sum of Rs 170 due from October 2011) to 1148 beneficiaries amounting to Rs 1770 per person.
Speaking to media persons on the sideline of the distribution programme, the Speaker said in the past the distribution of the pension schemes were supervised by certain persons with percentage cuts from the pensions.
And as such the beneficiaries never used to receive the exact amount of the scheme. This time around he is personally supervising so that the beneficiaries receive the exact amount, the MLA said.
He continued that almost 99 percent of the beneficiaries of the three schemes have already opened their bank accounts and after the completion of opening of bank accounts, pensions will be directly sanctioned to their respective accounts.
Use of bank accounts for the payment of pensions will stop the certain persons from using the names of death beneficiaries to withdraw the pensions, he said.