Shortchanged from Pension Schemes
Channel: VideoVolunteers
Date: 31/10/2013

VV-PACS Community Correspondent Rajkumar reports on yet another case where people owed money from benefit schemes are not getting their dues.

Rajpata and her husband Shiv Balak are trying to bring up 6 children. A hard task as money is hard to come by. Shiv is visually impaired and therefore is unable to hold a job. Rajpata herself has the use of only one hand. In between managing the children and her husband it is hard for her to do work. Ideally she and her husband would have found employment as either wage workers or farmers. 

Both are owed money under the Indira Gandhi Disability Pension scheme. 

This family in Pureshkulan Village, Uttar Pradesh is not the only one. Rajkumar finds many other such cases. A widow who hasn't received her pension in 3 years says that she has asked the Village Council several times but is still waiting to see concrete action.

India does not have too many financial safety nets for its citizens. Those who live below the poverty line still have some benefits schemes to their name but most spend a life time dredging through paper work and jumping through loophole after loophole to get access to them.

It is time to make a change for the better. 

Call to Action: Please call Mr Manish Srivastav, the Block Development Officer on 09415740651 and ask him to ensure that the people of Pureshkulan Village get their dues.

About the Partnership: The Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) Programme and Video Volunteers have come together to create the Community Correspondents Network. The videos generated by the network will be able to highlight voices from the margins, providing skills to social communicators to provide advocacy tools to community based organisations.