Yogi govt puts Samajwadi Pension Scheme on hold; orders probe

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government has put on hold Samajwadi pension scheme – a flagship public welfare scheme of the Akhilesh Yadav government – and ordered a probe to find out whether the existing beneficiaries are eligible. The decision was taken in the review meeting of Social Welfare department late last night. The government has also asked officials to link all the government beneficiary schemes with Aadhar so that all the loopholes are fixed. ‘The eligibility criteria laid down for selection of beneficiaries under the pension scheme should be probed. Till we get a clear picture, the Samajwadi Pension Yojana should be put on hold,’ the Chief Minister said while asking the authorities to complete the probe in one month time. Earlier, the government had removed Samajwadi from the name of the scheme and now it will be known as ‘Mukhyamantri’ pension scheme. Even the Supreme Court had appreciated the pension scheme in one of its judgement. Under this scheme, a woman head of the beneficiary family used to get Rs 500 per month. Samajwadi Party had assured a hike of Rs 500 per month if it returns to power.