ITANAGAR, 13 Sep: The All Arunachal Pradesh Divyangjan Beneficiaries Committee (AAPDBC) announced in a press conference on Wednesday that they have decided to launch a democratic movement, including a hunger strike, if their demands are not met.
AAPDBC chairman Nido Tezi is advocating for pensions for divyangjans (persons with disabilities). He highlighted that from 2018 to 2023, there would be more than 200 crore rupees owed to divyangjans in the state. It has been reported that an ultimatum was sent to the state government on 24 August, but there has been no response so far.
Currently, there are fifty-nine thousand three hundred (59,300) beneficiaries in the state. In 2018-19, pensions were granted to widows and disabled persons following an RTI inquiry, leaving out the elderly.
Subsequently, from 2019-21 pensions were extended to the elderly, excluding widows and disabled individuals.
Surprisingly, in 2020-21, there were no funds provided by both the state and central governments. It is worth noting that in 2021-22, an amount of Rs. 85 crore was released, as revealed through an RTI request.
The chairman firmly stated, “We are demanding the fulfillment of all the lapsed amounts from 2018 to 2023. If our demands are not met, we will initiate a democratic movement.”
Nido also questioned the more than 200 crore rupees in pension funds that remain lapsed from 2018 to 2023.
“We have submitted our documents to the director of social justice empowerment and tribal affairs (SJETA) but paperwork keeps circulating between offices.
Hence, we have planned a mass democratic movement. An appeal has been made to all residents from Banderdewa to Hollongi to join the movement,” he said and urged all pension beneficiaries throughout the district to also show their support.
