‘Allow door-door disbursal of pensions in tribal areas’

Human Rights Forum and LibTech India urge ECI to allow door-to-door pension distribution for tribal communities in remote areas.

The Human Rights Forum and LibTech India have appealed to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to permit the continuation of the door-to-door distribution of social security pensions for the tribal communities living in remote areas of the Fifth Schedule.

In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Monday, HRF leader V.S. Krishna and senior researcher of LibTech Chakradhar Buddha drew the CEC’s attention to the recent circular issued by the Government of Andhra Pradesh regarding disbursal of social security pensions during the period of elections.

While appreciating the efforts to continue with door-to-door cash delivery for certain categories of pensioners, such as differently abled individuals, they noted that the circular mandates the transition from door-to-door pension distribution to Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for other categories, including tribal communities living in remote areas.

Tribal communities face unique challenges like limited access to banking facilities and traversing long distances to reach the nearest bank branch/business correspondents/customer service points. For example, residents of Nittamamidi village of G. Madugula mandal, in ASR district, must walk at least 15 km to reach the nearest bank branch/BC/CSP point, situated in Tajangi (Chintapalli mandal, ASR district).

Moreover, the additional financial burden placed on tribal individuals, who have to spend significant amounts in collecting their cash from banks/BC/CSPs is distressing. Research conducted by LibTech India has revealed that BC/CSPs often levy exorbitant commissions when tribals withdraw their cash. There have been numerous instances of tribals being deceived at BC/CSP outlets.

The earlier door-to-door delivery of cash pensions was instrumental in ensuring that tribal beneficiaries received their entitlements without undue hardship. They sought exemption of tribal areas from the DBT system and reinstated the previous method of door-to-door cash disbursement for tribal communities in the State.

They also noted that there was a discrepancy in the circular regarding the eligibility criteria for the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS), which mentions that the transfer will be made to pensioners who are eligible for AEPS. This is confusing because one needs to be eligible for an Aadhaar-based Payment System(ABPS) and not AEPS to transfer cash. The AEPS is necessary for cash collection using Aadhaar and biometrics, whereas ABPS facilitates cash transfers into bank accounts. This discrepancy needs to be addressed urgently to ensure clarity and smooth implementation of the disbursement process.