T’puram: Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan asked the state govt to roll back its plan to make direct benefit transfer (DBT) into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts mandatory for social security pension beneficiaries (except bedridden patients) and restore doorstep distribution through cooperative societies.He said the proposed change would adversely affect senior citizens, persons with disabilities, people with health problems and those with limited access to banking services. Nearly half of the state’s social security pension beneficiaries had been receiving pensions at their doorsteps for the past 10 years, while those who preferred DBT could opt for it, he said.Rejecting the state govt’s argument that compliance with Centre’s DBT guidelines was necessary to avoid losing central assistance, Vijayan claimed that Centre’s share accounted for only 1% of the total social security pension distributed in Kerala every month and covered just 13.5% of beneficiaries.Describing Kerala’s pension distribution system as a model for India, he alleged that the latest order would dismantle the people-friendly mechanism. Many of those relying on doorstep delivery belonged to disadvantaged sections and lacked easy access to banking services, he claimed. He also alleged that the decision was a precursor to scrapping the pension scheme altogether. “Ending doorstep pension distribution and causing hardship to elderly people and persons with disabilities was unjust,” he said.
