Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today presided over a meeting of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department and reviewed the progress of various welfare schemes being implemented across the state. He directed the department to release the pending funds under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana at the earliest to eligible beneficiaries in the tribal areas of Pangi, Lahaul-Spiti, Dodra Kwar and Kupvi so that no entitled person is deprived of assistance.
The Chief Minister said that the state government is currently providing social security pensions to 8,41,917 eligible beneficiaries. These include beneficiaries under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension, Old Age Pension, Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension, Widow, Destitute and Single Woman Pension, Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension and the Disability Relief Allowance, ensuring financial security to senior citizens, widows, single women and persons with disabilities.
He informed that during the last three years, the present state government has approved 99,799 new social security pension cases. Out of these, 41,799 cases were approved during the financial year 2023-24, 41,012 during 2024-25 and 16,988 cases in the financial year 2025-26, reflecting the government’s commitment to expanding the social security net.
The Chief Minister further stated that under the Indira Gandhi Sukh Shiksha Yojana, financial assistance is being provided to 20,735 beneficiaries in the age group of 0 to 18 years and 853 beneficiaries in the age group of 18 to 27 years. Under the Mukhyamantri Sukh Ashray Yojana, eligible beneficiaries are being provided monthly assistance of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 4,000, as per the prescribed norms.
Emphasizing the need for efficiency and transparency, the Chief Minister directed the department to ensure the use of updated information technology-based software so that the identification of new beneficiaries and the disbursement of pensions and financial assistance are carried out in a timely and streamlined manner.
