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Disability Pension: Disabled People Trapped in Bureaucratic Quagmire

Disability Pension: Despite the intent to aid the most vulnerable, the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS) is marred by bureaucratic hurdles and outdated data practices.

By Neeraj Thakur
New Update
Dsiability pension scheme

Disability Pension: Disabled People Trapped in Bureaucratic Quagmire | Representative image | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement

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In our society, few groups are as vulnerable as those living with disabilities, relying on governmental support for their care and assistance. Ideally, inclusive policies should ensure that aid reaches these individuals seamlessly at their doorstep. However, in our nation, the reality is starkly different. People with disabilities are forced to navigate a bureaucratic maze, moving from one government office to another, just to claim the rights that are constitutionally guaranteed to them. The national disability pension scheme is a glaring example of this discrepancy that exposes the systemic failure in our disability pension scheme. 

The Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS), is the only national disability pension scheme in our country. The IGNDPS is a key element of India's National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). Launched on August 15, 1995, and managed by the Ministry of Rural Development for the past 27 years, the NSAP aims to support Below Poverty Line (BPL) households during old age, disability, widowhood, and the death of a primary breadwinner. 

The NSAP encompasses various subcategories of financial assistance, including the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS), and the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS). Additionally, it offers the National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS), which provides a one-time financial aid to bereaved families upon the death of the primary breadwinner, and the Annapurna scheme, which ensures food security for eligible elderly individuals who are not covered under IGNOAPS. Despite these extensive provisions, the delivery of these benefits often falls short, failing to reach the very individuals they are meant to support. 

Among the numerous flaws in the implementation of these social assistance schemes, our focus is on the Indira Gandhi National Disability Scheme (IGNDPS). Launched in February 2009 by the Ministry of Rural Development, this central government initiative aims to support disabled individuals in our country. The scheme provides a monthly pension to disabled people over 18 years old with a disability of 80% or more and belonging to the poverty line. The financial aid amounts to a meagre Rs. 300 per month, which increases to Rs. 500 per month once the beneficiary reaches the age of 80. While the intent behind the IGNDPS is commendable, the execution leaves much to be desired, often failing to offer substantial relief to those it aims to support. 

Firstly, the clause in the pension scheme that restricts eligibility to those with 80% or more disability is highly exclusionary. This narrow criterion leaves out a large portion of differently-abled individuals who desperately need financial support. Moreover, the central government allocates funds to States and Union Territories based on their Below Poverty Line (BPL) population, using population figures from the 2001 Census and the poverty ratio determined by the erstwhile Planning Commission in 2004-05. This raises two critical issues.

Why was the 2011 Census data not utilised? And, more importantly, the lack of a census post-2011 has further compounded the problem, excluding a vast segment of the BPL population. Consequently, individuals who have over 80% disability but lack the necessary authentication to prove their BPL status are left without pension benefits. This exclusion is not their fault but a direct result of the government's outdated data practices. By relying on obsolete census data, the government fails to include many who could have been rightful beneficiaries. 

Trapped in Bureaucratic Quagmire

The actual implementation of the IGNDPS is nothing short of appalling. A 2023 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG) on the performance audit of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), under which the IGNDPS falls, reveals the extent of this failure.

NSAP guidelines urge States and Union Territories to provide additional funds matching the central government's assistance to ensure a decent level of support for beneficiaries. However, the C&AG report notes that the central government's already inadequate contribution of Rs. 300 per month, increasing to Rs. 500 after the age of 80, remains insufficient for disabled individuals. Worse, several states, including Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, and Punjab, did not contribute a single rupee to this scheme. In many areas, the scheme wasn't implemented at all. For instance, between 2017 and 2021, the IGNDPS was non-existent in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Even in states like Goa, where it was implemented, the benefits were restricted to rural areas only.

The most shocking revelation is that implementing departments in 24 States and Union Territories failed to maintain BPL lists, a crucial requirement for determining eligibility under the NSAP. This negligence further increases the plight of people with disabilities, as they are left without the support they desperately need due to the systemic failures and lack of accountability within the government's administrative machinery.

The distribution of pensions under the IGNDPS has been plagued by significant delay

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