Over 34 lakh beneficiaries receive Rs 1,121 cr under social security schemes in Haryana

Chandigarh, Jul 10 (PTI) More than Rs 1,121 crore was transferred directly to the accounts of 34.83 lakh beneficiaries under 15 types of social security pension schemes in Haryana, officials said on Friday. The 9th instalment of the Deendayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana was also released to the beneficiaries among these, with over 9.98 lakh women receiving Rs 209.69 crore into their accounts. The scheme entails Rs 2,100 of monthly assistance to eligible women. Officials said that in total, a sum of Rs 1,582 crore was transferred to the bank accounts of about 50.20 lakh eligible beneficiaries across 19 different schemes -- which includes the social security pension schemes. Rs 107 crore was released for 20,165 eligible beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin). Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said the budgetary provision for Lado Lakshmi Yojana has been increased from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 6,500 crore annually. Taking a dig at the Congress, he alleged that the elderly were made to wait for a long time before pension was released to them, and they were forced to even pay bribes under the erstwhile governments. Saini said Congress only gave the 'Garibi Hatao' slogan but did "nothing for the poor". "They only made the poor poorer. If anyone played a cruel joke with poor, it was the Congress," he said. Attacking the AAP, he said they made tall promises to people in Punjab, but "failed" to fulfil these. "They should declare how many jobs they have given to the youth," he said, accusing the AAP of towing the Congress line in making "false" promises. "Both Congress and AAP may keep saying anything against each other, but they both have a tie-up," he claimed. On the issue of Satluj movie, which details the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra in Punjab in the turbulent 1990s, Saini said, "I have not seen the film." Replying to a question about reports of infighting in Punjab Congress, he said Congress' situation is same, be it Haryana, Delhi or Punjab. He further claimed that while Congress could bring about no change in 55 years, the government of Prime Minister Modi has managed to do it in 10 years. PTI SUN PRK