Kerala’s Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s decision to stop door-step in-person disbursal of social welfare pension to beneficiaries and channel the monthly payment of ₹2,500 through direct benefit transfer (DBT) to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts has run into strong political headwinds.

As many as 62 lakh people, including the aged, the infirm, the differently abled, widows, agricultural labourers, and single women above 60, among others, benefit from the social security allowance, which had been delivered directly to a bulk of beneficiaries at their homes by the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.

The UDF government’s decision to limit doorstep cash delivery routed through service cooperative banks, a majority of which are controlled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], to “bedridden” recipients has drawn flak from the LDF Opposition.

The CPI(M) has cried foul and announced a large-scale mobilisation of pension beneficiaries and their families, cutting across political lines, against the UDF government’s move.

Balagopal condemns move

CPI(M) leader and former Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal told reporters that he saw “an entrenched political plot to ensnare the pension delivery system in red-tape” with a view to eventually undermine the welfare scheme for those at the lowest economic and social strata entirely. 

Mr Balagopal said 25 lakh of the social welfare pension assignees had earlier opted for DBT through banks. “The majority of the recipients are those outside the system and not bank-savvy. Another round of biometric mustering for identification verification and other official processes for uninterrupted payouts might inconvenience them. Lakhs of eligible senior citizens, including agricultural workers, might not complete the new process in time for their welfare benefits, creating insurmountable and protracted backlogs”, he noted. 

Mr Balagopal said the UDF government’s decision would compel senior citizens ill-acquainted with the newly mandated process to depend on others who might be “exploitative.”

He said instances of some cooperative banks not refunding pensions deposited erroneously in the names of deceased persons were few and far between, and the UDF government should not use the “lame justification” to throw a spanner in the works of a system that the LDF government had “honed to near-perfection.”

“The government can easily solve such anomalies in pension disbursal by a financial reconciliation process with cooperative banks so that the exchequer loses no money”, he said. 

Mr Balagopal said the UDF’s position that the ₹30 service charge given to those who knock at the doors to disburse the pension cost the exchequer dearly had no merit. “Disbursers are paid only ₹30 even if they give two or three months' pension on the same day”, he added.

Mr Balagopal said the UDF government had come to power promising the electorate an enhanced social welfare pension with an estimated monthly payment of ₹2,500.

Anti-poor decision: Govindan

CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan said the LDF “did not intend to politicise” the issue.

“The Congress also controls several cooperative banks. The government has forced the CPI(M) onto the path of agitation by its anti-poor decision,” he said.