Chhattisgarh: 3 Divyang accuse Panchayat Secretary of not giving pension money; DM orders probe

Three visually impaired residents of Nagra village of Balrampur have alleged that they were not receiving their 'Divyaang pension' on time and accused Panchayat Secretary Mannauyar Hafni of committing irregularities.

"We don't have a house under the Awas Yojana. We are also not receiving the disability pension regularly. I don't even have a disability certificate," said Bifan Manjhi, one of the victims.

The district administration has not been able to get their bank accounts opened, which is mandatory for the disbursal benefits under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme.

Usha Singh, another victim of administrative apathy, said: "I am not receiving any help from the government. There is no toilet in the washroom which I can access. I only get a pension once in five months. The Panchayat Secretary misbehaves with me when I ask him about the pension."

However, District Collector Sanjeev Kumar Jha said: "This is not fair. Pensions should be disbursed timely. I have asked for a report about this. We have sent our officers to look into the matter.