No pension for gas tragedy widows since Dec 2019 ‘Discontinued Due To Unavailability Of Funds’

No pension for gas tragedy widows since Dec 2019
‘Discontinued Due To Unavailability Of Funds’

Ashutosh.Shukla@timesgroup.com

Bhopal: 24.07.2020

At a time when the both the Centre and state are extending soft loans and free ration to vulnerable sections of society to overcome the economic crisis during coronavirus, monthly pension of 5,000 widows of gas victims stands discontinued since December 2019 in Madhya Pradesh.

Monthly pension of Rs1000 for 5000 widows of gas victims was sanctioned in June, 2010 and the disbursement began in April 2011. An amount of Rs35 crore was provided by the then Union government for the purpose. While the Union government’s share in the pension fund was 75%, the state government contributed the remaining 25%.

The pension was discontinued in April 2016 due to the same reason as of now — unavailability of funds. Following agitation by NGOs working for the survivors of gas victims, pension was reinstated after oneand-a half years, but in December 2019, it was discontinued again.

“The pension scheme was for a period of five years. It was later extended by another two years, but now we have no funds to keep it going. A proposal to resume it has been sent to the state government. If the funds are sanctioned, it would be resumed again,” said a top official of the gas relief department.

But, NGOs fighting for the cause of gas victims are not convinced. “Pension is given for life. Have you seen pension of a retired bureaucrat, a former MP or MLA being discontinued after a period of five or seven years? How can they do it with poor widows of gas victims, who are mostly 75 years of age or more,” said president of Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Manch, Balkrishna Namdeo.

He added that not only the pension, which was the only source of sustenance for the widows of gas victims has been stopped, but also the free ration they used to get, is not being given to many.

“After the state government made thumb impression compulsory to get free ration at the point of sale (POS) machine, many widows are not getting ration because in several cases, the machine does not record their thumb impression due to old age,” said Namdeo.

Janki, a 75-year-old widow of a gas victim, said she neither gets pension nor ration, which kept her going for years. Bhopal Group of Information & Action (BGIA), which is contemplating moving court over discontinuation of pension, said that it is gross callousness on the part of gas relief department that led to discontinuation of pension to widows of gas victims.

“It is criminal. Widows of gas victims are perhaps the most vulnerable section of society that you can imagine. How can you provide pension to them for five years and then discontinue it when they are 70 plus? The state government at least has Rs140 crore unspent funds out of Rs272 crore received from the Union government for rehabilitation of gas victims. What could be a better rehabilitation of old, infirm widows than to save them from begging for food? They could have written to the Centre asking for more money but they didn't do it and left the old widows to fend for themselves,” said BGIA spokesperson.

“The pension scheme was for five years. It was later extended by another two years, but now we have no funds to keep it going. A proposal to resume it has been sent to the state government. If the funds are sanctioned, it would be resumed again,” said a n official of the gas relief department