On Tuesday,
minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development KT Rama Rao criticized
prime minister Narendra Modi for disparaging pensions for the elderly and physically disabled as handouts and for rejecting them. To further the interests of the populace, the State
government offered Aasara pensions. After giving out wheelchairs, two-wheelers, hearing aids, cellphones, and computers to physically challenged
people in Sircilla, Modi opposed such pensions, calling them handouts.
The K Chandrashekhar Rao-led state
government provides all forms of assistance to
people with disabilities and spends Rs 1,800 crore annually to assist 5.16 lakh people. Pensions alone accounted for Rs 1,540 crore in spending. During the previous nine years, a total of Rs 10,310 crore was spent.
Telangana offers the largest pension to those with disabilities, at Rs 4,016, whereas
chhattisgarh only offers Rs. 200 and
madhya pradesh and
maharashtra offer Rs. 300.
gujarat only offered pensions of 600 to 1,000 rupees.
people with disabilities received Rs 30,000 in cash aid under the "Economic Support" initiative in the former Andhra Pradesh. According to him, this was increased to Rs 1 lakh when
telangana was formed, with Rs 36.86 crore given as financial help during the last nine years, while Rs 37.83 crore was granted for handicapped people's weddings. He claimed that these could not be viewed as gifts or in opposition.