Payment of monthly financial assistance of ₹600 for caregivers of bed-ridden patients and intellectually challenged people, among others, under the Aswasakiranam scheme of the Kerala Social Security Mission, continues to be either erratic or nil.
Family members of the patients told The Hindu on Monday (February 10) that they had not been getting the amount on time in their bank accounts for years. Those who applied after 2018 had not been included in the scheme as well. The government’s financial constraints are attributed to be one of the reasons.
According to official sources, Aswasakiranam covers the caregivers of those suffering from extreme physical and mental disabilities, 100% visually-challenged people, those with intellectual disabilities, autism, cerebral palsy, and people who are bed-ridden either due to age or diseases such as cancer. Those with an annual income not exceeding ₹22,375 in municipalities and corporations and ₹20,000 in grama panchayat limits are eligible. They need to produce the BPL ration card, an income certificate and a medical certificate. The scheme was launched in 2010 and the initial monthly payment was ₹250.
Sulaikha Abootty from Koyilandy in Kozhikode, one of the beneficiaries, said that she had got it only a couple of times, but never on time. “I applied in 2017 and got the amount for two-three months together. It stopped thereafter,” she said. Nishitha Aneesh, another beneficiary, from Payyoli, claimed that her application submitted in 2015 was not accepted citing technical reasons. When she applied again in 2018, the officials said that new beneficiaries were not being included in the scheme.
In a reply given to Kanathil Jameela in the Assembly, Minister for Social Justice R. Bindu said in December 2022 that there were only 386 beneficiaries across the State in 2010-11. Over the years, this figure went up to 1,14,188 in 2020-21. In 2021-22, there were 96,086 beneficiaries. There were 34,965 people on the list in 2022-23, till data was available. In a reply given to M.S. Arun Kumar in the Assembly in June 2024, the Minister said that ₹98.12 crore had been allocated in 2020-21, ₹40 crore in 2021-22, ₹25 crore in 2022-23, and ₹15 crore in 2023-24. In the recently presented State Budget, ₹50 crore has been set aside for the scheme.
“Whenever the organisations representing differently-abled people voice their concerns, the department hurriedly releases some money as if to allay our concerns. There is no consistency in the process,” Ms. Abootty, also a State secretary of Parivar, an organisation representing guardians of differently abled children, claimed. Crores of rupees were being allocated in the Budget for the scheme, but it was not clear who was benefiting from it, she said. The Kerala State Human Rights Commission’s instructions to the officials not to default on the payment had not made much of a difference, said social activists.
Published – February 10, 2025 08:00 pm IST