The State Government will make arrangements to provide old age pensions at the doorsteps for those unable to reach the nearest post office or bank. Revenue Minister R. Ashok announced in the Legislative Assembly that the system will be put in place soon to reduce inconvenience to beneficiaries. “A total of ₹7,899 crore is being disbursed as various pensions/financial assistance to about 69.08 lakh beneficiaries of whom about 27.73 lakh people are getting their money from the nearest post office,” he said, responding to a question by JD(S) member Bandeppa Kashempur.

OPTIONAL CUT: Earlier, raising the issue, Mr. Kashempur said, that a number of old age pension beneficiaries were unable to reach the bank branches, which in many cases were more than a couple of kilometers away from their home. “In other cases, beneficiaries of other schemes had to leave their work to go to the bank, which resulted in loss of daily wages. Also, they had to spend money on transport.”

Vacancies in department

The issue of a large number of posts in Veterinary department lying vacant for several years was raised by members across all parties, highlighting the problems of dairy farmers. JD (S) member K.M. Shivlinge Gowda said that after COVID-19 pandemic, many people have moved from Bengaluru to villages and taken up dairy farming. “The government should at least introduce mobile clinics to help farmers who have invested heavily to purchase cattle,” he said.

In response, Animal Husbandary Minister Prabhu Chavan acknowledged that there was a huge vacancy in the department, and that he had sought approval from the finance department to recruit 900 doctors.