Date:26/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/26/stories/2007072660131100.htm

Andhra Pradesh

‘Speed up pension payment ’

HYDERABAD: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has asked the State Government to hasten the process of identifying eligible persons for Central Government’s Freedom Fighter’s Pension Scheme on Wednesday.

While hearing the case of 47 freedom fighters, who claimed to be part of struggle to integrate Hyderabad State with the Indian Union, SHRC Chairman, Justice B. Subhashan Reddy, asked the Government to ‘speed-up’ the process before the freedom fighters pass away in penury.

With respect to the case, Principal Secretary for Revenue I.V. Subba Rao informed Mr. Reddy that out of 47 persons, 41 were found to be eligible for the scheme while eligibility for the rest is still under scrutiny.

Meeting

“We are hoping that in few months from now, we would be able to screen all the candidates in the State and come out with a final figure. We would be holding a meeting of all the district Collectors by the month-end on this issue,” Mr. Subba Rao said.

Mr. Rao also informed that he would be recommending the names of these 41 persons for the pension scheme to the Central Government.

It was in 1997 that Hyderabad Special Screening Committee headed by MLA Ch. Rajeshwar Rao short-listed about 13,000 persons for the freedom fighter’s pension scheme of the Central Government.

Out of the 13,000 persons, freedom fighters said that only 3,500 persons are getting the Central Government pension while the rest are struggling with the official red tape. The freedom fighters, present at the hearing, complained that although their claims were as per rules and approved by State Government, officials from the Centre are declining to accept it in the wake of reports of irregularities in the processing of applications. Prominent figure of the Telangana peasant’s armed struggle Mallu Swarajyam on behalf of 47 freedom fighters had approached the human rights body for hastening the pending pensions.

“Because of some greedy people, eligible persons are not getting their due,” she said.