GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH

ABSTRACT

Pensions – Old Age Pensions, Widow Pensions, Disabled Pensions and

Weavers pensions –Common operational guidelines for implementation of the
Pension Schemes in the rural areas of the State –Orders –Issued.
============================================================

PANCHAYAT RAJ & RURAL DEVELOPMENT (RD. II) DEPARTMENT

G.O.Ms. No. 83, Dated 27.03.2006

ORDER:

As part of its welfare programmes, the Government of Andhra Pradesh is

implementing various pension schemes for the most needy and vulnerable
people i.e. the persons in old age, widows, people with disabilities and weavers
to provide them some succor. Realizing the need to universalize the pensions,
the Government has decided to take up one-third of villages for saturation each
year in a period of three years under ‘ INDI RAMMA’programme starting from
2006-07.

2. All these pensions till now are handled by different departments following
different procedures. Old Age Pensions and Weavers pensions are handled by
the Rural Development Department, Widow Pensions by Social Welfare
Department and Disabled Pensions by Women Development, Child Welfare
and Disabled Welfare Department.

3. In order to bring in uniformity in the process and to ensure payment of all

types of pensions on a single day every month, the Government has decided to
bring all the pensions under the single umbrella of Rural Development
department. The Department of Rural Development will be the nodal agency at
the State Level with effect from 01.04.2006 for drawing and disbursing the
above Pensions.

4. The field functionaries of Departments such as Rural development,

Handlooms and Textiles, Social Welfare, Women Development, Child Welfare
and Disabled Welfare Department will continue to assist the Gram Panchayats
in identifying the eligible persons for receiving the pensions, as per the eligibility
criteria specific to each type of pension.

5. The Government, after careful consideration of the matter, hereby issues

the following operational guidelines for implementation of all the Pension
Schemes in the rural areas of the State through the Department of Rural
Development.

5.1. Types of Pensions covered

a. Old Age Pension

b. Weavers Pension
c. Widow Pension
d. Disabled Pension

Page 1 of 7
5.2 Eligibility Criteria

a. Eligibility criteria common to all Pensions

i. The proposed beneficiary shall be from BPL family.

ii. He/she shall be a local resident of the district.
iii. He/she are not covered under any other Pension Scheme.

b. Old Age Pension

Old age persons, both male and female, who are 65 years of age or
above and are destitute (with little or no means of subsistence and no
family or relative to depend upon).

c. Weavers Pension
Weaver is 50 years of age or above and destitute.

d. Widow Pension
Widows irrespective of age limit.

e. Disabled Pension
Disabled persons having a minimum of 40% disability and are above
18 years of age.

5.3. Pension Amount

The scale of benefit under each pension will be notified by the Government
shortly.

5.4. Sanctioning Authority

The MPDO is the sanctioning authority for all pensions, in favour of eligible
persons recommended by the Gram Sabha.

5.5. Sanction Procedure for New Pensions

Government will make district-wise allocation of new pensions to be

sanctioned under INDIRAMMA programme. The District Collector shall
allocate Mandal-wise pensions based on eligible pensioners identified in
Gram Sabhas. The MPDO shall make Panchayat-wise allocation based on
the eligible pensioners identified in the Gram Sabhas. The procedure is
given in detail below:

a. The Gram Sabha resolution recommending the pensions to the eligible

persons shall be sent by the Panchayat Secretary to the MPDO.
b. Gram Panchayat shall maintain a separate Register on pensions. Part-
A of the Register contains list of the all the persons who are receiving
pensions and Part-B contains list of eligible persons identified in the
Gram Sabha who have not been sanctioned pensions.
c. The Register will be sent to the MPDO along with the GP resolution.
d. The MPDO scrutinizes the eligibility of the persons recommended by
the Gram Sabha and draws up the list of new pensioners keeping in
view the number allotted to each Panchayat.
e. The sanction proceedings will be given by the MPDO in the Format
given in Annexure-I.

Page 2 of 7
 f. Copies of the sanction proceedings will be sent to the PD, DRDA and
also to the pensioners in the village. A copy of the same shall also be
sent to the Village Organization for securing greater transparency.
g. The names of the persons who are sanctioned pensions shall be
rounded off in the Part B of the register and shall be added to Part A of
the register with the proceedings number. The entries made in the Part
A should be duly authenticated with the seal of the MPDO at the end of
the list. The register along with copies of the sanction proceedings shall
be returned to the GP.

5.6. Sanction procedure for filling up death vacancies

Whenever a pensioner dies, the GP in consultation the VO should select

the most deserving person from the Part-B of the Register so that the new
pensioner receives pension from the next month onwards. The procedure
to be followed is detailed below.

a. The criteria for selection shall be as detailed below.

i. In the case of old-age pensions, old widows shall be given first

preference.
ii. The person who is older (both male or female) shall be given
preference over the rest in the case of old age pensions.
iii. Person with a higher degree of disability shall be given preference
in the case of disability pensions.

b. The MPDO after satisfying herself/himself with the selection, shall issue
sanction orders within 10 days of receipt of the resolution which are
handed over to the pensioners through the Panchayat Secretary, with
copies to the Project Director, DRDA, the Gram Panchayat and the VO.
c. The name of the newly sanctioned pensioner will be entered in the Part
A and shall be deleted from the Part B of the Register.
d. The sanctioning authority shall have the right to stop/ recover payments
of any pension sanctioned on the basis of faulty or mistaken
information about eligibility.
e. Entire selection process till payment of pension should be completed
within 30 days.

5.7. Disbursement of Pensions

Government in PR and RD Dept will issue budget release orders and

administrative sanctions for every quarter for implementation of the
Scheme. The Commissioner, Rural Development will disburse the funds to
the DRDAs on quarterly basis.

a. By 20th of every month, the Project Director, DRDA shall take the
computer print out containing the details of the pensions to be
disbursed on the 1st of next month. This list is called Pensions
Acquittance List. The PD shall send the lists together with the funds
required for each Mandal to the MPDOs by way of cheque.
b. The MPDO will hand over the Pensions Acquittance List relating to
each GP to the concerned Panchayat Secretaries and will issue
cheques in the name of the Panchayat Secretaries by 25th of every
month.

Page 3 of 7
 c. The Panchayat Secretary shall disburse pensions directly to the
pensioners in the village in the presence of Sarpanch, GP members
and the office bearers of Village Organization on 1st of every month.
d. If the pensioner has not turned up at the time of disbursal, due to any
reason, the Panchayat Secretary shall take the help of the VO and
arrange to door deliver the pension through the Village organization.

e. The Panchayat Secretary shall furnish Pensions Acquittance List with

the signatures or thumb impressions of the pensioners, countersigned
by Sarpanch within a week to the MPDO and MPDO in turn will furnish
the same to the DRDA by 12th of every month.
f. The Panchayat Secretary shall also provide to the MPDO a list of
death-vacancies and the substitutes proposed by the GP.

5.8. Role & Responsibility of various Functionaries

a. Commissioner, Rural Development

The Commissioner, RD is responsible for release of funds to the

District Collectors based on the allocation made by the State
Government.

b. Chief Executive Officer, Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty

i. The CEO, SERP closely monitors the pension scheme and submits
monthly reports to the Government on the funds utilized and district
wise no of pensions disbursed.
ii. He is responsible to submit utilization certificates for the amounts
disbursed on quarterly basis to the Government.
iii. He is also responsible to maintain the Welfare Pensions Website
which shall be updated by 15th of every month.
iv. The CEO will commission evaluation studies once a year and submit
comprehensive report to the Government on the implementation of
the Pensions scheme.

c. Project Director, District Rural Development Agency

i. Will administer the pension scheme in the district in such a way that
the pensioners should receive pensions on first of every month
without fail.
ii. Releases funds to the MPDOs and conducts quarterly review with
them.
iii. Maintains a central database using the software provided and
updates the Welfare Pension Scheme Website on monthly basis.
iv. Maintains accounts and gets them audited.
v. Sends monthly report to the CEO, SERP.
vi. Puts in place a strategy to strengthen and build the capacities of MS
and VO to gradually shift to disbursement of pensions through the
CBOs.

Page 4 of 7
 d. Mandal Parishad Development Officer

i. Sanctioning authority for pensions in rural areas.

ii. Releases funds to the Panchayat Secretary. Reviews with the
Panchayat Secretaries on the implementation.
iii. Reports to the Mandal Parishad about the implementation of the
scheme.
iv. Reviews on a monthly basis death vacancies and their filling up with
eligible beneficiaries with the Panchayat Secretary.
v. Sends utilization certificate, Acquittance and monthly report to the
DRDA by 12th of every month.
vi. Maintains accounts and gets it audited every year.
vii. Redressal of grievances.

e. Panchayat Secretary

i. Shall disburse pensions directly to the pensioners in the village in the

presence of Sarpanch and the members of Gram Panchayat on 1st of
every month at a public place in every habitation.
ii. The Panchayat Secretary shall furnish acquittance countersigned by
Sarpanch within a week to the MPDO.
iii. The Panchayat Secretary shall also provide to the MPDO a list of
death-vacancies that have occurred.
iv. Shall maintain the Pension register and shall update it every month.
v. Shall report the death vacancy to the Gram Panchayat within 2 days
of the vacancy having occurred.
vi. Shall forward the resolution of the Gram Sabha to the MPDO
selecting beneficiaries against the new sanction.
vii. Sends monthly report to the MPDO.
viii.Returns undisbursed amounts to the MPDO by the month end.

5.9. Accounts

a. DRDA shall maintain separate accounts for each type of Pension at the
district level.

b. Panchayat Secretary shall furnish Utilization Certificates to the MPDO

by 8th of every month and MPDO in turn shall furnish UC to the Project
Director, DRDA by 12th of every month.

c. The accounts shall be audited every year at MPDO level and audit
reports along with UCs should be furnished to the Project Director,
DRDA.
d. The accounts at the DRDA level shall be audited every year and
pension wise audit reports, Utilization Certificates should be furnished
by the Project Director, DRDA to the CEO, SERP every year.

Page 5 of 7
 e. The PD, DRDA shall furnish annual accounts in respect of all Pensions
to the Accountant General Office, Hyderabad every year marking a
copy to the CEO, SERP.
5.10. Registers

a. Pensions Register consists of four sections, each section for each type
of pension. Each section will have two parts, part A and part B. Part A
will contain names of all existing pensioners and Part B will consist of
list of eligible persons identified in the Gram Sabha who have not been
sanctioned pensions.
b. Project Director, DRDA shall maintain pension wise master
register/database for all pensions separately.
c. Gram Panchayat and MPDO shall maintain pension registers and will
enter the disbursements, death, new sanctions etc from time to time.
The Panchayat Secretary shall update the register once in a month.
d. A copy of the same will be placed with the VO, MS, MPDO and Project
Director, DRDA.

5.11. Reports

a. Monthly report in the format prescribed should be furnished by the

Panchayat Secretary to the MPDO by 6th of every month and in turn
MPDO to the DRDA by 10th of every month in respect of disbursement,
new sanctions, death cases, stoppage cases, changed residence
cases etc.

b. MPDO shall send the report to the DRDA in respect of newly

sanctioned cases on or before 10th of every month.

c. The centralized database of DRDA shall be updated once a month

based on the above mentioned reports.

5.12. Distribution of Pensions through Mandal Samakhya & Village

Organization

Not with standing the procedure contained in para 5.7, wherever the MS
have emerged as a self-reliant and self managed institution and have
demonstrated the ability to deliver services to the poor more effectively
and in a transparent manner, the District Collectors can channelise funds
through the MS and VOs and secure disbursement of pensions by the
VO in the presence of the Sarpanch and Ward Members. All the
guidelines, covering all other aspects of the pensions contained in this
GO will have to be followed. Even where disbursement of pensions
happens through the VO, identification of new pensioners to fill up the
vacancies shall be done by GP only in consultation with the VO.

5.13. Software

Project Director, DRDA shall manage the pensions through the software
that is already developed by the Department of RD and host the pension
data in the website that is exclusively being designed, on a monthly
basis. He/she shall update the disbursement status, data on filling up of
death vacancies, temporary migration etc. in the data base by 15th of
every month.

Page 6 of 7
5.14. Monitoring & Evaluation

a. The DRDA shall maintain the database of pensions in the software

provided.
b. The DRDA shall hold quarterly meeting for monitoring the programme
and for related matters with the MPDOs and shall furnish quarterly
reports to the CEO, SERP and Commissioner, RD.
c. DRDA shall send online monthly report to the CEO, SERP by 15th of
every month.

6. A copy of this order is available on the Internet and can be accessed at

the address http://www.rd.ap.gov.in.

(BY ORDER AND IN THE NAME OF GOVERNOR OF ANDHRA PRADESH)

K.RAJU
PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT

To
All the District Collectors
All the Project Directors of DRDAs
The Principal Secretary, Social Welfare Department
The Principal Secretary, Women Development, Child Welfare and
Disabled Welfare Department
The Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce Department
The Principal Secretary, Municipal Admn. & Urban Development Department
The Principal Secretary, PR & RWS, PR & RD Department
The Commissioner Social Welfare Department
The Commissioner, Disabled Welfare Department
The Commissioner, Handlooms & Textiles Department
The Commissioner, Municipal Administration.
The Commissioner, Rural Development
The Chief Executive Officer, SERP, AP Hyderabad.
The Commissioner, Panchayat Raj, AP Hyderabad

Copy to:

The Special Secretary to Chief Minister

The PS to Chief Secretary to Government
The PS to Minister, RD and RWS
The PS to Minister, Social Welfare
The PS to Minister, WD, CW & DW
The PS to Minister, Industries
The PS to Minister, Municipal Administration
The PS to Principal Secretary (RD)
The Web Manager, Rural Development Website, O/o the Commissioner (RD)
PR & RD Department.
SF/SC.

//Forwarded :: By order//

Assistant Secretary to Govt.

Page 7 of 7