Telangana Cheyutha pensions will be sanctioned for 4.5 lakh eligible beneficiaries, with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy launching the distribution programme in Kodangal and pension payments set to begin this month, according to a report by the Times of India – Hyderabad.
The chief minister will hand over pension sanction documents to selected beneficiaries at the programme in his constituency. Ministers, elected representatives and officials will subsequently distribute the documents to eligible beneficiaries across districts in a phased manner. Panchayati raj, rural development and women and child welfare minister D Anasuya Seethakka is scheduled to participate in the programme.
The newly approved pensions cover categories including single women, widows, persons with disabilities, toddy tappers, weavers and patients suffering from filariasis, among others. The government had initially planned to begin the new pensions during Dasara, but the rollout was delayed while applications were verified.
A total of 6,00,917 applications were received between August 10 and September 15. The Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty, or SERP, handled the application process, scrutiny and identification of eligible beneficiaries. Applications were accepted through gram panchayats, mandal parishad development offices, ward offices and municipal offices.
Mee Seva centres in the Core Urban Region were also allowed to accept applications from eligible rural beneficiaries who were temporarily living in urban areas. This provision extended the application process beyond village-level offices and recognised that some rural beneficiaries may reside in or move through urban areas while retaining eligibility under the scheme.
The verification process included checks against an integrated database covering land records, vehicle registrations, employee details and GST records linked to large business units. Designated officers then conducted field-level verification at mandal and municipal levels. Relevant departments examined applications linked to specific occupational categories, with the Excise Department verifying toddy tapper applications and the Handlooms and Textiles Department examining applications from weavers.
The government also appointed senior officials as District-Level Monitoring Officers to conduct random checks on the selection process. Local representatives, officials and civil society organisations were involved in awareness campaigns intended to identify eligible applicants and improve coverage.
The rollout places the next operational responsibility on district administrations and local offices, which will distribute sanction documents and facilitate the start of monthly payments for the newly approved pensioners. The government’s phased distribution programme will proceed across Telangana following the Kodangal launch.
