Days after The Quint revealed that scores of underprivileged in south Delhi were denied ration due to absence of Aadhaar cards and inefficiency of e-POS (Electronic Point-of-Sale) biometric machines, The Times of India on 7 February, Wednesday, reported that several inmates at old age homes across Uttar Pradesh are yet to get benefits of pension in the absence of Aadhaar cards.
The TOI report states that the many elderly in Meerut and Bareilly are unable to get Aadhaar cards since their fingerprints cannot be scanned due to flattening of their thumbs and fingers. The article adds that 49 in Meerut and 40 in Bareilly were denied pension.
The report in the daily quoted Bareilly’s social-welfare officer Ashok Dixit saying that Aadhaar cards cannot be made on the address of an old-age home or by any other organisation. He adds that several senior citizens with smothered fingers are unable to register for Aadhaar and toe impressions can only be taken for person with disabilities.
Raj Kumar, the NGO running the old-age home in Meerut, told TOI:
The procedure of pension can begin only after the social welfare officer makes a visit here and sends a monthly report but since it has not been done, the pension procedure cannot even begin in the first place. There are inmates who do not possess Aadhaar cards.
Under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, citizens above 60 years of age living Below Poverty Line are entitled to a pension of Rs 200 per month while those above 80 years get Rs 500 per month.
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