GUWAHATI, May 13 - Due to the apathy of a few officials, thousands of persons with disability from Assam are still deprived of the monthly stipend given under the Deendayal Divyangjan Pension scheme, according to the Pratibandhi Suraksha Sangstha, Assam (PSSA), an organisation working for the rights of differently-abled persons in the state.
The scheme was officially inaugurated in Assam by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on January 10 this year, where, in the first phase the scheme covered 1,11,115 beneficiaries and 24,617 in the second phase.
According to the PSSA, at the end of the last financial year, the Social Welfare department sanctioned Rs 29,54,16,000 for the scheme. But due to the negligence of some officials, the fund remains pending at the treasury.
In a statement, the PSSA demanded the State government to take immediate steps to release the fund within one week. Nripen Malakar, general secretary of the organisation, stated that they will carry out a massive agitation in the city in the coming days if the government fails to resolve the issue.
The PSSA also demanded appointment of local candidates in all 69 vacant posts of Grade C and D in the Northeast Frontier Railway for which the recruitment process is under way.
