DELIVERY OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND PENSION BENEFITS IN KARNATAKA

Transcription

1 DELIVERY OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND PENSION BENEFITS IN KARNATAKA By D Rajasekhar, G Sreedhar, N L Narasimha Reddy R R Biradar and R Manjula Submitted to Directorate of Social Security and Pensions Department of Revenue, Government of Karnataka Centre for Decentralisation and Development Institute for Social and Economic Change Nagarbhavi PO, Bangalore [email protected] February 17,

2 Table of Contents 1) Introduction 3 2) Delivery of Social Security and Pension Benefits in Bellary District 8 3) Delivery of Social Security and Pension Benefits in Chitradurga 39 4) Delivery of Social Security and Pension Benefits in Gulbarga 65 5) Summary and Conclusions 91 2

3 1. INTRODUCTION Pension Schemes in Karnataka The Directorate of Social Security and Pensions (SSP), Revenue Department, GoK, has been implementing nine schemes for the unorganized sector workers in Karnataka. A study by the World Bank concluded that social schemes in Karnataka appear to be a model for other safety net programme, with remarkably low leakages of public funds and pro-poor targeting of benefits (World Bank, 2006). These schemes relate to s for the aged, widows and disabled, one-time benefit to households and insurance. Directorate of SSP implements two old age schemes. The oldest has been Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension. The main purpose of this centrally sponsored scheme is help old age persons. The GoK has been implementing this scheme in The scheme has been, however, modified as National Old Age Pension on August 15, 1995 and implemented as a part of National Social Assistance Programme. The scheme provided s only to destitute belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) households, earning less than Rs. 6,000 per annum. The scheme has been renamed as Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension on November 11, 2007 by relaxing the destitute criteria of the National Old Age Pension. There were 686,666 person obtaining old age in the state in Sandhya Suraksha Yojane is another old age programme in Karnataka implemented by the state government since While the benefit amount and age criterion have been the same as in the case of Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension, the difference lies in income eligibility. Sandhya Suraksha Yojane can given to households earning up to Rs. 20,000 per annum. During , the number of beneficiaries was 26,231 in the state. Destitute Widow Pensions (DWP) have been in Karnataka state since 1984 to assist destitute widows in the age group of above 18 years. The eligibility criteria are that she should belong to BPL household, husband is legally dead and income should not exceed Rs. 6,000 per annum. The is paid until she remarries or her children starts supporting her or her income limit crosses Rs.6000 PA or till her death. Currently, Rs. 400 is paid as per month. The total number of widow ers was 771,165 in the state in

4 Physically handicapped Pensions (PHP) have been given in the state since November 7, 1977 to the blind, mentally retarded, deaf, handicaps and mentally ill. Persons who have accrued disability due to leprosy are also eligible. Any child born with disability mentioned under or disability accrued due to accident with disability above 40% is eligible for. The income limit is Rs. 6,000 per annum. Currently, Rs. 400 is paid as the per month. Recently, it has been decided to pay Rs. 1,000 to those having more than 75 per cent of the disability. The total number of persons receiving physically handicapped s in the state was 464,731 in Delivery of Pension schemes In , lakh persons in the state received s under the above schemes. Over 90 per cent of the s have been delivered to the ers through the postal department. This delivery mechanism is as follows. The sanction order is sent to the respective treasury for payment of to the beneficiaries monthly. Treasury prints money orders. One cheque is sent to the respective post offices along with 100 money orders in one bundle manually. Post offices disburse the as per the address printed on the money order. The money reaches the beneficiaries at the door step. Thus, an important positive feature of the current delivery mechanism is to provide benefits at the door step of the er every month on prescribed date. It is to be noted that the has to be delivered by 7 th of every month. The government has been facing the following problems in the delivery of s. Commission of 5 per cent is being paid to the post office per transaction per beneficiary. This amounts approximately Rs. 40 crores in a year. Huge indirect cost is being incurred by treasury in disbursing s such as the cost of printing, stationery, etc. There is shortage of human resources at the treasury, and this contributes to the delay in disbursement. Post offices take their own time to sort the money orders villages and locality wise, and this contributes to further delay in the disbursal of money orders at the door step. An added problem is that the postman cannot carry more than Rs. 10,000 per day for disbursement for security reasons. This causes further delay in the disbursement. 4

5 Due to shortage of human resources at Tehasildar s office and treasury, the for those ers whose money orders have not been acknowledged consecutively for three months are not being suspended or cancelled. Reconciliation of beneficiaries is not being done by Tehasildars. Life certificates per year are being given by the Tehasildars and not being asked by the Treasury for continuation of s. Over time, however, the beneficiaries have also been facing problems in the receipt of s. An important problem is the delay in the disbursal of s. At the national level, the Planning Commission found that 40 per cent of the beneficiaries were not getting their on a regular basis and per cent reported that their payments had been delayed by more than 2 months. Second important problem is the unauthorized payment to the agents delivering the s. The Planning Commission reported that this ranges between Rs. 20 to Rs. 40. Third important problem is significant proportion of the ineligible beneficiaries among ers, and the lack of system to weed out such ineligible beneficiaries. Thus, it is widely perceived that the current delivery mechanisms cause delays in the disbursal of the benefits, appropriation of benefits by the middlemen, delivery to benefits to ineligible persons, etc. In addition, the Revenue Department is also incurring considerable expenditure in the form of commission to the postal department. In order to address the above, the Karnataka government has initiated measures towards addressing bottlenecks and move towards the timely delivery of s. One of the measures has been to deliver s with the help of the existing banking network, as current mechanism of delivering s through the postal network has been causing delays. It has been, however, recognized that banking network is not as wider as postal network; and hence it may face limitations in reaching out to the remote and far off villages. To address this, banks would use business correspondents, who will deliver at door steps. The government will continue to use postal network wherever needed by introducing change in mode of delivery from MO to postal account. 5

6 Against this background, the Revenue Department has requested the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, to undertake a baseline survey on the delivery mechanisms and failure to provide benchmark data for Bellary, Chitradurga and Gulbarga districts (where the new strategy will be tried out) on a number of variables that reflect the status of current delivery mechanisms. This information would be useful to gauze the progress in the delivery mechanisms made under the new system of smart cards. Objectives To carry out baseline survey on current mechanisms to deliver social security and benefits under the four schemes mentioned above; To identify the delivery failures in the implementation of social security and programmes; and To prepare a report on the delivery mechanisms and failures in the delivery of social security and benefits, and also provide observations on the impact of schemes on beneficiaries. Methodology The study has been conducted in three districts of the state, viz., Bellary, Chitradurga and Gulbarga. Multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to select taluks, villages and households in each district, as described below: At the first stage, two taluks with highest number of beneficiaries were selected for the study. The taluks selected were Bellary and Hospet in Bellary district, Chitradurga and Chellakere in Chitradurga district, and Gulbarga and Alland in Gulbarga district. At the second stage, one town and three villages from each taluk were selected based on the highest number of beneficiaries. At the third stage, two wards with highest number of beneficiaries were selected from the chosen urban locality. Similarly, three villages with 60 or more beneficiaries (bigger villages) were selected from each taluk. In addition, three more villages, adjacent to the chosen villages but located away from the main road with 15 to 20 beneficiaries (smaller villages) were selected from each taluk. 6

7 At the fourth stage, the list of ers falling under different schemes was prepared for each ward/nagar and also for each village. The ers were divided into three strata based on the scheme under which they were sanctioned, viz., 1) Old age ers, 2) Destitute widow ers and 3) Disability ers. We have selected 30 ers from each ward for an in-depth study based on stratified proportionate sampling method. Similarly, 30 beneficiaries each were selected from the bigger villages and 10 each from smaller villages for an in-depth study, following the same procedure. In the event of non-availability of the sample ers (permanent migration, etc.) thus chosen, they were duly substituted with the reserve provided in the list. The study covered a sample of 180 ers spread over 2 wards, 3 bigger villages and 3 smaller villages from each taluk. Thus, 360 ers were selected from each district, comprising 120 from the urban areas and 240 from the rural areas. The total sample for the study was 1080 ers drawn from the three broad categories namely OAPs, DWPs and PHPs in the three study districts taken together. In addition to interviewing the sample ers chosen for the study, village and ward level interviews were held with the key informants in each selected village/ ward to to elicit their views and to assess the overall performance of the delivery system. Besides, secondary data/ information was collected from the Tehsildar office, Sub-treasury office and the Taluk post office to understand the progress of the SSP schemes and operation of the delivery system and to ascertain the reasons for delay. The study results have been presented in five chapters. In Chapters 2 to 4, the findings on the delivery of social security and benefits in Bellary, Chitradurga and Gulbarga have been, respectively, presented. In the final chapter, conclusions have been provided. 7

8 2. Delivery of Social Security and Pension Benefits in Bellary District INTRODUCTION This chapter is devoted to the study of delivery of Social Security Pension benefits in Bellary district. The total sample for the study, comprising 361 ers in two taluks of Bellary and Hospet, represents all the three categories of ers, viz., Old Age Pensioners (OAP), Destitute Widow Pensioners (DWP) and Physically Handicapped or Disabled Pensioners (PHP). In the first section of this chapter, the progress of schemes and the arrangements to distribute s in the district are analysed with the help of the secondary data available and discussions with officials of the concerned departments. This is followed by the analysis with regard to the socio-economic profile of the sample households and ers chosen for the study. In the subsequent sections, a detailed analysis of primary data has been made covering different aspects such as s, delivery mechanisms, delay in the delivery of s, unauthorised payments, behaviour of the delivery agent, work status of ers before and after obtaining, level of security among ers and the issues relating to ineligible ers. PROGRESS OF THE PENSION SCHEMES IN THE DISTRICT The progress of the social security schemes in terms of growth rate in the number of beneficiaries in Bellary district from to is shown in Table 2.1. Nearly 20,000 new ers were added under different schemes during the last two years. The growth rate in the number of ers has been 29 per cent, highest in the case of OAP, followed by DWP and PHP. The reasons for such rapid growth are the following: First, there was a change in the eligibility criteria for OAP. Initially, s for the elderly were restricted to the destitute; but this criterion was relaxed. This resulted in several people applying for the s. Secondly, the increase in the amount to Rs. 400 motivated several people to apply for the scheme. Third, during , the state government introduced a new scheme called Sandhya Suraksha Yojana (SSY) for the benefit of old age ers, and undertook enrolment drives. Under the SSY scheme, only 1411 ers have been given so far. By December 2008, there were a total of 88,288 ers, of whom 41 per cent were receiving PHP, 35 per cent OAP and 23 per cent DWP. 8

9 Table 2.1: Growth rate in the number of ers in Bellary District Sl. No. Scheme Number of Pensioners % of growth (up to Dec 08) over Old Age Pension scheme 22,345 24,169 31, (32.6) (33.7) (35.3) 2. Widow Pension scheme 15,662 15,962 19, (22.9) (22.2) (22.6) 3. Disability Pension scheme 30,429 31,630 35, (44.5) (44.1) (40.5) 4. Sandhya Suraksha Yojana , (1.6) 68,436 71,761 88, (100) (100) (100) Source: Data provided by the Directorate of Social Security and Pensions, Revenue Department, GoK Table 2.2 on growth rate in the expenditure on social security and benefits (including administrative expenditure) in Bellary district from to shows that the expenditure increased by about 10 times from Rs.3.25 crores in to Rs crores in (up to December 2008). Table 2.2: Expenditure (Rs.) on social security and benefits in Bellary district Sl. No. Scheme Expenditure (Rs.) % of growth (up to Dec 08) over Old Age Pension scheme Widow Pension scheme Disability Pension scheme Sandhya Suraksha Yojana Source: Data provided by the Directorate of Social Security and Pensions, Revenue Department, GoK The higher growth rate in the expenditure when compared to that of the number of ers could be attributed to an increase in the monthly amount from Rs.200 to Rs.400 in , and the consequent spurt in the demand for from the potential beneficiaries. 9

10 Thus, there has been a huge demand for social security s, especially under the SSY. For instance, in Hospet taluk alone, 1753 persons were sanctioned s in December 2008, of whom a majority (75.4%) fall under the SSY. Nearly 3000 applications for sanction of were reported to be under process. It was informed by the treasury officers in the study area that there was no dearth of funds for social security benefits as they fall under non-plan expenditure. Arrangements to Distribute the Pensions The applications for sanction of s are submitted to the Tehsildar. The Revenue Inspector (RI) with the help of the Village Accountant scrutinises the applications, including the physical verification of the applicants in accordance with the eligibility criteria. Based on the report of the RI, the Shirastadar sends in the papers to the Tehsildar for sanction. Upon sanction of, the order copy is sent to the applicant and the Sub-treasury Officer (STO). The STO gets the data entered into the computer, and releases the amount. The existing arrangements to distribute the amount consist of two methods, viz., 1) through post offices and 2) through banks. The STO releases the amount through cheques to the Post Master, Taluk Post Office and to the concerned banks. Most of the s are being distributed through the post offices. The STO sends the cheques for every 100 Money Orders (MOs) to the Taluk Head Post Office. But, in the case of Bellary taluk, cheques have been sent for every 500 MOs. From the taluk post office, the amount is sent to the sub-post offices for booking of MOs. The process of booking the MOs at the subpost offices takes about a week s time. From the sub-post offices, the MOs will be sent to the branch post offices. At the branch post office level, the postmaster has to make indents to sub-post office, obtain the amount, and arrange for the distribution of money to the ers through the postman. The major difficulties faced by officials from different departments in the district could be listed out as follows: Revenue department Dearth of staff to scrutinize applications and for physical verification to adhere to the eligibility criteria Overload of work for the RI and village accountant, especially in urban areas Quantum jump in applications in the recent past Pressure from local politicians to expedite the process of sanctioning No feedback from the STO to the Tehsildar regarding stoppage of 10

11 Treasury department Dependence on Tehsildar s office for deputing case workers to enter data into the computer Large number of MOs to be printed Frequent repair of printers Power cut problem Postal department Delay at the sub-post offices for booking the MOs Postman cannot carry more than Rs per day The usual practice in the study area is to release once in two months from the treasury. The time taken for the release of from the treasury to the beneficiary ranges between 10 and 30 days or more. Thus, on the whole, it takes more than two months for the distribution of through post offices in the district. A few ers have been receiving the through their bank accounts. The existing procedure for distributing through banks stipulates that the er has to open a savings bank account at any bank branch, and make an application in the prescribed form to the STO. The STO sends the amount to the concerned banks, where it is credited to the account of the er every month. Thus, there is no delay in the distribution of s through banks. However, the number of ers receiving the through banks is very less. For instance, in Hospet taluk, it was found that out of 17,724 ers, only 862 (4.9%) were receiving through banks. In the case of unclaimed MOs, the amount has to be sent back to the treasury once in three months. In Bellary taluk, 510 MOs were returned to the treasury during June to November 2008, while the corresponding figure was 221 in Hospet. At the treasury level, the amount will be kept under sus for three months, and thereafter it will be stopped. The banks are also supposed to send the un-drawn amount to the treasury after three months. But, there is no mechanism to address the unclaimed cases from the treasury to the Tehsildar s office. The discussions with the District Treasury Officer and the Tehsildar, Bellary revealed that, in Bellary taluk efforts have been initiated to introduce the smart card system for which physical verification of the ers and data updating was under progress. The photographs and the 11

12 fingerprints of the ers are being recorded and the ers are being issued a Fingerprint Enrolment Copy as an acknowledgement. This was corroborated by the fact that in one of the sample villages, the process took place on November 8, In another sample village, the smart cards were also distributed and the business correspondent appointed by Syndicate Bank, Emmiganur branch was seen distributing the s. In view of this, the government instructed the treasury officer to stop the release of the amount from October onwards in Bellary taluk. In other taluks including Hospet, the distribution of s through post offices is being continued. PROFILE OF SAMPLE HOUSEHOLDS The profile of the sample households is analysed here in terms of religion and caste background, housing status, access to PDS, and composition of the household members by gender, age group, educational status, occupational status and dependency ratio, which will enable us to understand the socio-economic background of those benefiting under the social security benefit schemes. Nearly 87 per cent of the er households were Hindus, while the others were Muslims (Table 2.3). The distribution of ers by religion is more or less the same across the three categories of ers. The caste composition of the ers (Table 2.4) reveals that the SCs and STs accounted for about 46 per cent of the er households. The backward castes accounted for about 29% of the ers, while Muslim minorities accounted for 13%. Thus, a vast majority of the ers belonged to the depressed castes. There are certain variations in the caste composition of ers across the three categories. Table 2.3: Distribution of Households in Bellary by Religion and Pension Type (%) Religion Old age Widow Disability Hindu Muslim

13 Table 2.4: Distribution of Pensioner Households in Bellary by Caste Category and Type of Pension (%) Caste Category Old age Widow Disability SC ST Backward Caste Minorities Others House type, Sanitation and possession of ration cards Regarding housing status of the ers (Table 2.5), about 40% were residing in pucca houses and 23% in semi-pucca houses. While 23% of the ers were residing in katcha houses, 12% did not have their own house and were residing in rented houses. Further, about 77% of the ers had no access to sanitation facility. Thus, the housing status of a majority of the ers could be considered as poor. However, the percentage of households residing in pucca/rcc houses is relatively higher among the PHP (51%) when compared to the OAP and the DWP (37% and 38% respectively). Table 2.5: Access of Pensioner Households in Bellary to Housing, Sanitation and PDS (%) Old age (N=113) Widow (N=131) Disability (N=117) (N=361) House status No house Katcha Semi-Pucca Pucca RCC house Sanitation facility Individual sanitation Community latrine Open defecation Type of ration card BPL Card - AAY BPL Card - Akshaya APL Card No ration card

14 With regard to access to ration cards (Table 2.5), it was found that 65% of the ers had accessed the BPL card Akshaya and 11% the BPL card AAY. About 11% of the ers had APL cards, their share being higher in the case of PHP when compared to DWP and OAP. It is a matter of concern that 13% of the ers had no access to PDS, more so among the OAP when compared to the DWP and the PHP. Distribution of household members by Age and Size of the family The household composition of the ers (Table 2.6) indicates that there were more females (53.4%) than males (46.6%) in the sample households. This is due to the presence of more females among the DWP and OAP households. The average household size worked out to 4.7, being higher among the PHP households (5.2) when compared to the OAP (4.6) and the DWP (4.3). Table 2.6: Distribution of sample household members in Bellary by sex (%) Old age Widow Disability Sex Male Female Average HH size The age group composition of the sample household members (Table 2.7) indicates that children (14 years and below) constituted 24% of the household members, while the aged (above 65 years) accounted for 12%. About 65% of the household members belonged to the economically productive age group (15-64 years), being higher among the PHP households (73%) when compared to the OAP (52%) and widows (68%). Table 2.7: Distribution of sample HH members in Bellary by age (%) Old age Age group Widow Disability <= >=

15 Educational Profile The educational profile of the household members (Table 2.8) indicates that about half of them were illiterate, such a percentage being higher among the aged when compared to the widows and the disabled. About 26% of the members had primary education. Only 14% had high school education, such a percentage being higher among the PHP households when compared to that of the DWP and OAP. Thus, the educational profile of the members is quite low. Table 2.8: Distribution of sample HH members in Bellary by educational level (%) Old age Widow Disability Educational level Illiterate Yet to be admitted into school Primary (1-7) High school (8-10) Pre-university Technical education Degree Post graduation Occupational Profile The working status of the household members (Table 2.9) shows that wage labour is the single largest occupation in which 25% of the members were engaged, mostly in agriculture. The next important occupation is self-employment (in small manufacturing, hotels, transport and personal services), which accounted for 11% of the members, followed by agriculture (7%). There were a few salaried employees, but mostly in the private sector and in low-paid occupations. While 18% of the members cannot work, 8% were engaged in household work. Students constituted 20% of the members, while 6% were too young to go to school. 15

16 Table 2.9: Distribution of sample HH members in Bellary by working status (%) Old age Widow Disability Work status Wage labourer in agriculture Wage labourer in non-agriculture Self-employed in agriculture Self-employed in small manufacturing/ hotel/ transport/personal services Salaried employee Household work Unemployed Student Cannot work Too young to go to school The ratio of dependents to workers is zero in about 14% households, and up to one in about 43% households. In the case of the remaining 43% households, the dependency ratio is greater than one and even exceeds three. The percentage of households with more than three dependents is highest in the case of OAP households, followed by PHP and DWP (Table 2.10). Table 2.10: Distribution of Pensioner households in Bellary by the dependents ratio (%) Old age Widow Disability Ratio of dependents to workers 0* > Thus, the profile of the sample households indicates that the PHP households appeared to be better placed when compared to that of the DWP and OAP in terms of percentage of households living in pucca/ RCC houses, possessing APL ration card and containing a higher proportion of members in the economically productive age group. 16

17 PROFILE OF THE SAMPLE PENSIONERS The profile of the sample ers is examined here in terms of their personal characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, education and working status. Gender Females outnumbered males among the ers, accounting for 74% of the total across all the three categories. Besides DWP, the share of females was very high (80%) among the OAP. The share of females was, however, less (40%) in the case of PHP (table 2.11). The higher proportion of females in so far as OAPs are concerned can be attributed to increased longevity of women as compared to men and targeting on account of their greater vulnerability. Table 2.11: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by sex (%) Old age Widow Disability Sex Male Female Age Group The distribution of the ers by age (Table 2.12) indicates that among the OAP, over 91% were aged 65 years or more. Most of them in the age group of years were closer to the upper limit. There was only one case of a er whose age was less than 55 years. Even among the DWP, a majority (54%) were above 55 years in age. A majority of the PHP (61%) were, however, less than 25 years of age. On the whole, the age appears to be not on the side of the ers, as 39% of them were aged 65 years or more and another 6% children. Table 2.12: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by age (%) Disability Old age Widow Age group >=

18 Marital Status The marital status of the ers (Table 2.13) indicates that a majority of them (55%) were widowed, such a percentage being very high among both the DWP and OAP (99% and 65% respectively). Among the PHP, however, more than two-thirds (68%) were unmarried. Table 2.13: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by marital status (%) Old age Widow Disability Marital status Unmarried Married Widowed Divorced Separated Deserted Educational Level The educational level of the ers (Table 2.14) indicates that the proportion of illiterates was very high among the OAP (97%) and DWP (93%). However, 67% of the PHP were literate, but their educational levels could be termed low, as most of them did not cross high school level. Table 2.14: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by educational level (%) Old age Widow Disability Educational level Illiterate Yet to be admitted into school Primary (1-7) High school (8-10) Pre-university Degree Post graduation Working Status The working status of the ers (Table 2.15) indicates that among the OAP, over threefourths (77%) cannot work. A few of them were, however, engaged as wage labourers in agriculture or self-employed in non-agricultural pursuits. Among the DWP, while 42% cannot work, the rest of them were mostly engaged as wage labourers in agriculture or selfemployed in small manufacturing/hotel/transport/personal services. In the case of PHP, those who cannot work constituted 48%, whereas 23% were students. Even among the PHP, there 18

19 were quite a few who were engaged in wage labour in agriculture or self-employed in nonagricultural activities. There were also a few salaried employees among all the three categories; but it was found that most of them were employed in the private sector, that too in low-paid occupations such as that of a sweeper, anganwadi worker, watchman, etc. One of the disabled ers, was, however, working as a lecturer in a private college. Table 2.15: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by working status (%) Old age Widow Disability Work status Wage labourer in agriculture Wage labourer in non-agriculture Self-employed in agriculture Self-employed in small manufacturing/ hotel/ transport/personal services Salaried employee Household work Unemployed Student Cannot work Too young to go to school Thus, most of the ers were females, widowed, and belonged to the category of nonproductive age group and non-workers. There were, however, a few workers among the ers, more so among the widowed when compared to other two categories. Most of them were engaged in the unorganised sector, undertaking wage employment in agriculture or self-employment in the non-agricultural sector. As such, it appears that most of the ers are in a disadvantageous position in terms of demographic, physical and economic status. Pensions An attempt is made here to analyse the data pertaining to s in the sample households such as where the was obtained, the number of ers in the household, year of obtaining the, whether they had the sanction letter, degree of disability among the PHP, and working status before obtaining. It needs to be mentioned here that even though there was more than one er in some households, the analysis is confined to the 361 respondents that were chosen as the sample for the study. 19

20 Place of obtaining Pension It was found that all the sample respondents obtained their in the location where they were residing. Number of Pensions in the Household In addition to the sample respondents, there were a few others in the sample households obtaining social security. On the whole, there were 14% households which comprised persons other than the respondent obtaining (Table 2.16). Table 2.16: Pensioner Households (%) in Bellary receiving more than one Whether anyone else in your HH receives? Old age Widow Disability Yes No The distribution of sample households by type of holders (Table 2.17) shows that 31% comprised only DWP, 29% only PHP and 26% only OAP. In the remaining households, there was a combination of all the three types of. There were three households where three persons obtained ; all the three types of were obtained in one of these households. Table 2.17: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by type of holders in their HHs (%) holders in the household Old age Widow Disability Only OAP Only DWP Only PHP OAP & DWP OAP & PHP DWP & PHP OAP & OAP DWP & DWP PHP & PHP OAP, OAP & PHP PHP, PHP & DWP OAP, DWP & PHP

21 Year of obtaining the Pension The distribution of sample ers by the year of obtaining the for the first time (Table 2.18) shows that slightly more than two-thirds of the ers among the OAP and PHP obtained after Even among the DWP, a majority (57%) obtained after Of the remaining, most of them obtained between 1995 and 2000 across all the three categories. Thus, a vast majority of the ers obtained during the last 13 years, even though the schemes were initiated much earlier. It implies that the demand for s has increased in the recent past, mainly due to enhancement of the monthly amount from Rs.100 to Rs.200 and further to Rs.400. Table 2.18: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by year of obtaining the (%) Year of obtaining Old age Widow Disability Before After No information Possession of sanction letter Regarding the possession of sanction letter or card, 97% of the ers informed that they possessed it, the percentage being more or less the same across all the three categories (Table 2.19). Table 2.19: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by possession of sanction letter or card (%) Does the er possess sanction letter or card? Old age Widow Disability Yes No

22 Degree of Disability The distribution of PHP by degree of disability (Table 2.20) shows that a majority (57%) had disability of 40-60%, and 22% had disability of 60-75%. About 10% disabled ers had disability of more than 75%, while the remaining 10% were on the borderline, i.e., a disability of just 40% which is the eligibility condition for obtaining. The degree of disability was noted down by verifying the doctor s certificate available with the respondents, to the extent possible. Table 2.20: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by extent of disability (%) Extent of disability Disability 40% % % 22.2 >75% (117) Working Status before obtaining Pension Regarding the working status of ers before obtaining the (Table 2.21), a majority of the ers from OAP and PHP categories (59% and 63% respectively) reported that they did nothing. This could be attributed to the advancement of age among the OAP and the degree of disability among the PHP. Further, there were quite a few students (20%) among the PHP at the time of obtaining. Thus, 83% of PHP were not engaged in any economic activity at the time of obtaining. Only among the DWP, the percentage of ers who did nothing at the time of obtaining is 35%. Thus, a majority of the DWP were engaged in some economic activity at the time of obtaining. It could be seen that, of those who were engaged in economic activities, most of them were engaged as wage labourers in agriculture, while a few others were engaged in wage labour in the non-agricultural sector, cultivation, business and other occupations. 22

23 Table 2.21: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by their working status before obtaining the s (%) Working status before obtaining the s Old age Widow Disability Wage labour in agriculture Wage labour in non-agriculture Cultivator Nothing Business Student Others Delivery Mechanism An attempt has been made here to examine the delivery mechanism for distribution of s in terms of the place of distribution of, who delivers, and how the ers managed to receive the amount in case of their absence. Place of Distribution of Pension About 89% of the ers across all the three categories reported that they receive at their doorstep through the postman. Only about 2% of the ers (belonging to DWP and PHP categories) reported that they receive the through the bank. The remaining 9% of the ers reported that they receive at the local post office (Table 2.22). It was observed that those who receive at the post office include the ers in a hamlet located at about 3-4 km from the main village housing the post office. In another case, even though the post office is located in the village, the postman insisted that the ers go to the post office to receive their. In the latter case, those who receive at the post office include the relatively poorer and ignorant ers who had no voice, because the postman did give to a few people at their doorstep in the same village. Table 2.22: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by the place of receiving the (%) Where do you usually receive the? Old age Widow Disability At the door step Local post office Local bank

24 Who delivers Pension? Thus, it is clear that it is the postman who delivers the in the case of a vast majority of the ers, followed by bank officials in a few cases. It was also noted that in one of the sample villages called H.Veerapura, the business correspondent appointed by Syndicate Bank, Emmiganur distributed the through the smart card system to some ers. However, the process seems to be incomplete in this village since smart cards were distributed to 106 out of 142 ers as on the date of survey. Arrangement if the Pensioner is Absent in the Village An enquiry was made with regard to how the ers manage to get the in the event of their absence (Table 2.23) when the postman visits their house. It was revealed that the ers in a village, locality or street usually keep on enquiring of the postman as to when the will be distributed. Therefore, they inform the postman through their relatives to wait for a few days. About 52% of the ers reported that they inform the postman about their absence. About 30% of the ers reported that they would go to the post office to collect their in the event of their absence when the postman visited them. A few others (6%) reported that they authorise their relatives to receive the on their behalf. Table 2.23: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by their responses on how they manage to receive the when they are absent(%) How do they manage to get when they are not present? Old age Widow Disability Go to post office Authorize relatives to receive Postman will be informed Others No information Delay in the Delivery of Pensions The delay in the delivery of s is analysed here in terms of the actual number of days of delay in respect of the last, perceptions of the ers on delay, and the improvement in the timeliness of delivery over time after they started receiving. 24

25 No. of days of Delay It may be mentioned here that, to obtain this information, the actual date of delivery of as mentioned in the MO receipt available with the respondents was verified to the extent possible. In some places, the date of delivery was clearly indicated, while in some other places, the postman did not care to mention the date of delivery. In the case of the latter, the recall method was used to obtain information on the probable date of delivery. In one village, the postman was very good and scrupulous, in the sense that he not only recorded the date of delivery on the MO receipt, but also made every er maintain a notebook in which he took pains to record the date of delivery of. With regard to the number of days of delay in the delivery of last (Table 2.24), it ranged between days in the case of 37% of the ers, followed by days in the case of 30% across all categories. There is no significant variation across the categories in this regard. The main reason for the delay in the delivery of could be traced to the pattern of release of from the treasury, which varied between Bellary and Hospet taluks. In the case of Bellary taluk, the last delivered was for the month of Sep 08, which was released in Nov 09 and delivered to the ers in the month of November and December. On the other hand, the for Nov-Dec 08 was released in January 09 and the delivery of was under progress at the time of survey during the second week of Jan 09. But, in most cases the last pertained to Sep-Oct 08, which was delivered in Nov-Dec 08. Another important reason for the delay could be due to the rule that postman cannot carry more than Rs per day. As a result, there were variations in the date of delivery of by the postman by about 30 days or more; variations could be noted even within the same village. The delay was of the order of days for the delivery of last in the case of about half the ers, if we take into account the stipulated norm of delivery of in the first week, i.e., before 7 th of every month. In one of the sample villages, there were also complaints of mischief by the postman to the effect that he would use it for his personal needs and distribute it to the ers at a later date. If they complained, he used to threaten them that MO would be returned. So, the ers bear the injustice meted out to them in silence. 25

26 Table 2.24: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by No. of days of delay in the delivery of last (%) Old age Widow Disability No. of days of delay days days days days days Above 100 days Perceptions of Delay Regarding the perceptions of the ers about delay in the delivery of during the last 6 months (Table 2.25), only 3% of the ers reported that they received it in the first week of the month; these include ers who receive the through banks. About 52% of the ers reported that there was a delay of two months in the delivery of. The rest of the ers felt that the delay in the delivery of s was three months and above. Thus, a majority of the ers felt that the delay in the delivery of s is two months or more. Table 2.25: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by the delay in the delivery of benefits in the last six months (%) Duration of delay in the delivery of Old age Widow Disability No delay-always delivered in the first week of every month A month Two months Three months and above Timeliness of Pension delivery over Time A majority of the ers (55%) felt that the timeliness of delivery (table 2.26) has somewhat improved over time since they first received. About 22% of the ers observed that the timeliness in delivery has vastly improved over time, while another 22% noted that it has not improved (remained the same). Thus, the timeliness of delivery has vastly improved or improved somewhat over time, according to a majority of the ers. The ers were, however, happy with the increase in the monthly amount from time to time. 26

27 Table 2.26: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by the timeliness of delivery since starting to receive (%) Timeliness of delivery Old age Widow Disability Vastly Improved Somewhat improved Not improved Unauthorised payments An attempt is made here to analyse whether any amount is paid to different actors including the postman, proportion of the amount paid to the total amount, why these payments were made and whether the payment was made voluntarily or demanded. Payment to different actors It was enquired whether any payment was made to anybody including the postman or bank official or any other person for receiving the last. About 80% of the ers across all the three categories reported that they paid the postman, such a percentage being higher in the case of DWP when compared to the other two (Table 2.27) On the other hand, the percentage of those who did not pay anything to the postman is higher among the OAP and PHP when compared to the DWP; the main reason for this could be the poor economic and health status of the er or better awareness of the ers. Table 2.27: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by their responses on the payment at the time of receiving the (%) Payment to the following at the time of receiving the Old age Widow Disability Postman None Amount paid to Pension The amount paid to the postman varied between Rs.5 to Rs.50, depending on the last amount, which ranged between Rs.400 and Rs.800. About 47% of the ers across all the three categories reported that they paid Rs at the time of receiving the last. About 12% of the ers reported that they paid Rs (Table 2.28). The norm for 27

28 payment to the postman is usually 5% of the amount, but it ranged between 2% and 6%, and varied from village to village, depending on the awareness level and attitude of the ers as well as the attitude of the postman. Table 2.28: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by the commission amount paid to the person who delivers the (%) Amount (in Rs.) paid to the person who delivers the Old age Widow Disability < > Not applicable Reasons for making unauthorised payments Regarding the reasons for making unauthorised payments to the postman, it was found that it became customary to pay the postman whenever any MO is delivered on considerations of the risk involved and the distance travelled in the hot sun. This practice has crept into the system over a long time and has spread to the delivery of amounts too. For instance, one old lady opined that even though she cannot afford to make payments to the postman, she still pays him because he comes from a long distance and delivers the at her doorstep. There is also a tendency among some postmen to think that the government is giving to the ers free and therefore he is entitled to some portion of it. Similarly, some ers also have a tendency to think that they are receiving some free money from the government and so they can pay some amount to the person who delivers it. It is often forgotten that the postman has to deliver the as part of his duty and that the er is entitled to from the government as a social security measure. The widespread illiteracy among the ers could be one important reason for this situation, while the depressed condition of some of the ers, more so among the OAP and DWP, could be another reason. Was the Payment voluntary or demanded? About 43% of the ers across all categories reported that they paid the postman voluntarily, such a percentage being higher among the OAP when compared to other two 28

29 categories. It was reported that the ers pay some thing to the postman, taking into account the risk he takes to carry the money and distribute to them over a considerable distance; in some cases, the postman has to travel more than 4 km to reach the village. On the other hand, about 37% of the ers reported that the money was demanded in the sense that the postman deducts some portion (mutually agreed) of the amount and pays the balance to the ers (Table 2.29). Table 2.29: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by their responses on whether the payment was voluntary or demanded (%) Was the amount demanded or voluntarily paid? Old age Widow Disability Demanded Voluntarily paid Not applicable Behaviour of the Delivery Agent An enquiry was made with regard to the behaviour of the delivery agent, be it the postman or business correspondent or bank official, at the time of giving the. As mentioned earlier, the postman is the delivery agent for most of the ers. A vast majority (91%) of the ers across all the three categories reported that the behaviour of the delivery agent was polite/ cordial. About 6% reported the behaviour of delivery agent as indifferent, while only 3% reported it as being arrogant/rough (Table 2.30). Table 2.30: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by the behaviour of the postman/ bank officials while distributing (%) Behaviour of postman/ bank officials Old age Widow Disability Polite/cordial Indifferent Arrogant/rough Work Status before and after obtaining Pension The work status of the ers at the time of obtaining and at present throws some light on whether there has been some change in their occupation, and if yes, in what way and what could be the reasons for such a change. The analysis has been done separately for the three categories of ers. 29

30 Old Age Pensioners The change in work status of OAP after obtaining (Table 2.31) reveals that the proportion of those who did nothing/ cannot work has increased from 59% to 77%, justifiably due to advancement of age. But, a few of them who did nothing earlier (9%) have now taken up wage labour or self-employment in non-agriculture, perhaps out of compulsion to look after themselves or their dependents. Table 2.31: Distribution of old age ers in Bellary by their current working status and previous occupation (%) Current working status Previous occupation Wage labourer in agriculture Self-employed in agriculture Self-employed in small manufacturing/ hotel/ transport/ personal services Salaried employe e House hold work Cannot work Wage labour in agriculture Wage labour in nonagriculture Cultivator Nothing Others Note: Figures italicised represents column percentages Widow Pensioners The change in the work status of widow ers after obtaining (Table 2.32) indicates that there has been a shift from wage labour in agriculture and non-agriculture to self-employment in non-agricultural activities. This shift appears to have taken place partly due to because it enables them to undertake some small business activities. Even though there has been an increase in the proportion of those who did nothing/ cannot work from 35% to 42%, a few of those who did nothing earlier (17%) have taken up selfemployment in non-agriculture or wage labour in agriculture. This could be due to compulsions of meeting the consumption or educational needs of children and also to fulfil the obligation of performing the marriage of daughters. Thus, there is upward mobility in the work status of widow ers to some extent. 30

31 Table 2.32: Distribution of widow ers in Bellary by their current working status and previous occupation (%) Current working status Previous occupation Wage labourer in agricultu re Selfemployed in agricultu re Self-employed in small manufacturing/ hotel/ transport/ personal services Salaried employe e House hold work Cannot work Wage labour in agriculture Wage labour in nonagriculture Cultivator Nothing Business Others Note: Figures italicised represents column percentages Disability Pensioners The change in work status of disability ers after obtaining (Table 2.33) reveals that there has been a significant shift towards economic activity. The proportion of those who did nothing or cannot work declined from 63% to 48%. Some of those who did nothing earlier are now students, and a few of them have taken up economic activities also. Similarly, those who were students earlier have now taken up some economic activity in the non-farm sector and even as employees in the private sector. There has also been a shift from wage labour to self-employment in the non-farm sector and private employment. The upward mobility in the occupational status of disability ers could be mainly attributed to their young age. It appears that has certainly contributed to the education of disabled ers and enabled them to take up some economic activity. 31

32 Table 2.33: Distribution of disability ers in Bellary by their current working status and previous occupation (%) Current working status Previous occupation Wage labour er in agricul ture Wage laboure r in nonagricult ure Selfemplo yed in agricu lture Self-employed in small manufacturing/ hotel/ transport/ personal services Salar ied empl oyee House hold work Stud ent Cannot work Too young to go to school Wage labour in agriculture Wage labour in nonagriculture Cultivator Nothing Business Student Others Note: Figures italicised represents column percentages Level of Security among Pensioners Regarding the level of security of the ers after they started obtaining (Table 2.34), a vast majority of the ers (85%) opined that they felt more secure now when compared to before. The main reason for feeling more secure than before appears to be the increase in the amount. Even though there is some delay in the distribution of, they are sure that one day it will come to their rescue. On the other hand, about 8% reported that they felt the same way as before when they were not receiving any ; it was observed that these households were economically better off when compared to the rest of the ers. Only one PHP felt that he is not feeling secure even with the because of the severity of his disability and huge medical expenses. 32

33 Table 2.34: Distribution of Pensioners in Bellary by their statements on level of security after they started to receive the (%) Level of security Old age Widow Disability More secure Same as before Not feeling secure No information Issues relating to Ineligible ers An attempt is made here to analyse the issues relating to the ineligible ers and the magnitude and duration of ineligibility. In particular, it is sought to examine whether there are any ineligible beneficiaries among those receiving the s on account of death of a er, age, remarriage and overstated disability, as well as the number of working members in the household and the household income (total and per capita). Death of Pensioner There were only two death cases in the sample of 363 ers. It was learnt that the death of er was informed to the postman and that the was stopped forthwith. This was crosschecked with the villagers, who confirmed the death of er and the stoppage of. These two cases were therefore deleted for the purpose of further analysis. Thus, it may be observed that there were no ineligible persons receiving on account of death of a er. Age of the Pensioner A close look at the distribution of OAP by age group (Table 2.12) indicates that 9% of the OAP (i.e., 10 out of 113) were less than 65 years of age and hence not eligible to receive. It was found that 70% of these ers were sanctioned after Thus, most of them were on the borderline. Further, the age mentioned in the election photo identity (EPI) card was the basis for obtaining the present age of the er, wherever it was available. The EPI card was found to have been issued much earlier than they obtained. Most of the OAP were illiterate and there is a general tendency to underreport age in public while photographs are taken for issue of EPI cards. As such, it is quite possible that the 33

34 age reported and recorded in the EPI card could be erroneous. These facts preclude us from arriving at a definite conclusion with regard to ineligible ers on account of age. Remarriage of Pensioner A close look at the marital status of the DWP (Table 2.13) indicates that there were no ineligible ers on account of remarriage. There were, however, two cases where the er was deserted by her husband or she was separated from her husband. These two cases could virtually be considered as widows, as the households were headed by a single woman; the villagers consider them so. Overstated Disability A close look at the current working status of PHP by the degree of disability (Table 2.37) reveals that the proportion of disabled ers who are non-workers (cannot work, student and household work) increases with the degree of disability. About half of the disabled ers with just 40% disability were engaged in economic activities. Similarly, about 30% of disabled persons with 40-60% disability were engaged in economic activities. There is a possibility that a few of these could become ineligible if subjected to closer scrutiny. But, the number of such cases is too small to warrant re-examination. More over, as the degree of disability was noted as per the doctor s certificate, it would be difficult to conclude that there are ineligible ers on account of overstated disability. Table 2.37: Distribution of disability ers in Bellary by proportion of disability and current working status (%) Current working status Wage labourer in agriculture Wage laboure r in nonagricult ure Selfemployed in agriculture Self-employed in small manufacturing/ hotel/ transport/ personal services Salaried employe e House hold work Too young to go to school % of Cannot disability Student work 40% % % >75% Number of Workers in the Household The distribution of sample households by number of workers (Table 2.38) indicates that there is not even a single worker in about 7% households, such a percentage being higher among the OAP (12%) when compared to the DWP and PHP. There is only one worker in 29% 34

35 households, while there are two workers in the case of 29%. There are three workers in 19% households. There are more than three workers in the remaining 15% households, more so among the PHP when compared to DWP and OAP. While it cannot be denied that the households with more than three workers are relatively better off in economic terms when compared to others, it is also possible that there could be certain compulsions for the existence of a large number of workers and the income is not pooled together and used. The households with more than three workers are generally large-sized families. Some of them may be joint families, but not in the strict sense of the term, which implies that control over household income is vested with the eldest male head. In the poorer households, it is unlikely that the income of all the individual workers is shared by all members equally. Each individual may like to spend earnings in his/her own way. Hence, it is difficult to conclude that there are ineligible ers on account of number of workers in the household. Table 2.38: Distribution of ers in Bellary by number of working members (%) Number of working members Old age Widow Disability Household Income If the household income is taken into account (Tables 2.39 and 2.40), as per the present eligibility criteria of Rs.6000 per annum for sanction of widow and disability, many households become ineligible. But, in the present context, fixing a maximum income of Rs.6000 per annum as eligibility for sanction of appears to be unrealistic because of two important factors, viz., the implementation of NREGP which guarantees a minimum of 100 days of employment per annum and the minimum wage of Rs.74 per day in Karnataka according to the Minimum Wages Act. Therefore, it is unlikely that the annual income of a household would be less than Rs.6000 even if there is one worker in the household. It is 35

36 learnt that the government has been contemplating an upward revision of the income criteria for sanctioning widow and disability s. Table 2.39: Distribution of ers in Bellary by their HH annual income (%) annual income Old age (in Rs.) Widow Disability <= > Table 2.40: Distribution of ers in Bellary by the monthly per capita income (%) Monthly per capita income (in Rs.) Old age Widow Disability <= > Secondly, there is another fact that needs to be taken into account before taking household income as the criteria for ineligibility of ers. For instance, in the case of DWP, the er lives in a different family that of a father, brother or sister or in-laws mainly for the sake of security and moral support. Similarly, in the case of OAP, the er sometimes lives with the family of his/her brother, sister, daughter or cousins and not with his/her own sons. Even in the case of PHP, a few ers reside with the guardians. In all such cases, the er may not have access to or any say over the household income. Therefore, it may not be correct to take the income of the household as that of the er. Another justification for this is that the income earned by individual workers is not shared by all household members in all matters. Lastly, household income cannot be viewed in isolation. The indebtedness of the household, the source and purpose of debt will have a bearing on household income. If the household 36

37 incurs a debt from a private source for health or consumption purpose or even for investment on agriculture, there may be no returns or the rate of return is uncertain, which would make it difficult for the household to repay it. The expenditure pattern, especially on medical expenses or education or liquor/gambling, should also be taken into account to judge whether the income puts the household on a sound footing in economic terms. In view of the above, it would be difficult to come to a definite conclusion on ineligible ers on account of income. Conclusions Based on the findings of the study, the following important conclusions could be drawn: 1. The targeting of the social security and benefits appears to be in the right direction, as indicated by the large-scale coverage of weaker sections including women. 2. The profile of the sample households indicates that the PHP households are relatively better off in terms of housing status, type of ration card and proportion of economically productive age group, when compared to DWP and OAP households; the OAP households appear to the poorest. 3. The profile of the ers indicates that most of the ers are in a disadvantageous position in terms of demographic, physical and economic status. 4. There has been a spurt in the demand for s during the last decade as indicated by the greater number of sanctions made after 2000 than before, mainly due to increase in the monthly amount and the proactive role of the government. 5. About 14% of households have more than one er. A majority of the ers were non-workers at the time of sanction of, more so among the PHP and OAP when compared to the DWP. A vast majority of the ers possessed the sanction letter of. 6. Nearly 90% of the ers receive the at their doorstep through the postman. The ers manage to get the in case they are absent when the postman visits their house by informing the postman or collecting the from the post office. 7. The delay in the delivery of is of the order of days from the stipulated date in most cases, mostly due to the practice of releasing it once in two months from 37

38 the treasury and the condition that the postman cannot carry more than Rs per day. The timeliness in the delivery of, however, has improved over time. 8. Nearly 80% of the ers make unauthorised payments to the postman, ranging from 2% to 6% of the amount. While about half of them are paid to the postman voluntarily, the postman demands the money in the sense that he deducts the amount before paying the in the case of the rest. However, the behaviour of the delivery agent has been cordial in most cases. 9. There has been an upward mobility in the work status of the PHP and DWP after obtaining from wage labour to self-employment in the non-farm sector; this could be attributed to education facilitated by in the case of PHP and leisure time facilitated by in the case of DWP, besides certain compulsions to look after the education, consumption needs of children and to perform the marriage of daughters. 10. Pension gives the ers a sense of security as indicated by the high level of security among them in the sense that most of them feel more secure now than before; one important reason for this is the increase in the monthly amount. 11. There are virtually no cases of ineligible ers on account of death of er, remarriage and overstated disability. Apparently there seem to be a few cases of ineligible ers on account of age, but the ineligibility on the ground of age becomes untenable, as there is no authenticated evidence of the date of birth in the case of OAP. 12. It is difficult to arrive at definite conclusions with regard to ineligible ers. There could be a few ineligible ers if we take into account the households with more than three workers and the household income as a whole. But, these criteria cannot be considered in isolation from other factors such as indebtedness, purpose and source of debt of the household, expenditure pattern of the household and the pattern of income-sharing arrangement within the household, which require an in-depth study. It appears that the small proportion of potential ineligible ers and the meagre allocations for social security benefits in the state does not warrant such a study. 38

39 3. DELIVERY OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND PENSION BENEFITS IN CHITRADURGA DISTRICT INTRODUCTION Social security and schemes have been implemented in Chitradurga district with a view to supplement the income of the destitute and poor households, and thereby preventing them from falling into multiple deprivations. Money transfer through several social security schemes is not the only source of income for the destitute and poor households. There are other livelihood earning strategies that they take up with limited capital assets. In this Chapter, we will examine the delivery of social security and benefits. In the first section of the Chapter, we will examine the progress in the number of ers and expenditure in the district. In sections 2 and 3, we provide the profile of er households and ers, respectively. This is followed by a discussion on the arrangements to disburse s at the village level, delay in the disbursal of benefits, unauthorised payments, etc. In the penultimate section, issues relating to ineligible ers have been taken up for discussion, while conclusions are provided in the final section. PROGRESS OF PENSION BENEFITS IN CHITRADURGA As Chitradurga district is one of the backward districts in the state, exposed to periodicdroughts, the implementation of social security schemes such as old age (OAP), destitute widow (DWP) and physically handicapped person (PHP) is considered to be an important strategy, in part, to ameliorate the sufferings of the destitute and poor households. The number of ers and the amount of expenditure spent under different schemes has shown progressive trends, reflecting the continued commitment of the state towards disadvantaged people. The data provided in Table 3.1 indicate that the proportion of PHP increased from per cent to per cent during to While the proportion of OAP showed a smaller increase, that of DWP declined during the same period. The annual growth rate of PHP was found to be higher, compared to OAP and DWP during the same period. It follows that there has been greater growth in the number of disabled persons obtaining 39

40 benefit in the district. The growth of OAP may, in part, be attributed to relaxation of the eligibility criteria. Table 3.1: Growth Rate of Number of Pensioners in Chitradurga District Type of Pensions (December) Growth rate in over (%) OAP (20.83) (20.43) (22.13) PHP (35.84) (36.67) (38.92) DWP (43.33) (42.90) (38.95) SSY All (100) (100) (100) Note: Figures in parenthesis are column percentages Source: Revenue Department, Government of Karnataka, Bangalore. The data on expenditure on the delivery of s including administrative expenditure is provided in Table 3.2. The proportion of expenditure on OAP and PHP to total has increased significantly during to , whereas that on DWP has sharply declined during the same period. This implies that along with an increase in the number of ers, the resources flowing into the programme were also found to be quite progressively increasing. The increase in the number of ers has been accompanied by an increase in the expenditure on OAP and PHP in the district. The increase in the amount of expenditure on different schemes may be attributed to an increase in the amount of benefit and the number of ers. Table 3.2: Growth Rate in the Expenditure on Pension Schemes in Chitradurga Type of Pensions (December) Growth rate in over (%) OAP (16.51) (15.18) (22.15) PHP (31.22) (24.57) (37.43) DWP (52.27) (60.25) (37.38) SSY Note: Figures in parenthesis are column percentages Source: Revenue Department, Government of Karnataka, Bangalore. 40

41 PROFILE OF SAMPLE HOUSEHOLDS Religion Table 3.3 shows that most of the sample ers are Hindus, accounting for about more than 89 per cent, followed by Muslims. The share of Hindu households was found to be relatively more in the case of OAP and PHP households. Table 3.3: Distribution of Pensioner Households by Religion (per cent) Religion Old age Widow Disability Hindu Muslim (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Caste Caste composition of the sample households (Table 3.4) shows that a large proportion of them belonged to depressed castes such as STs, SCs and backward castes. The proportion of households belonging to the socio-economically disadvantaged sections of society was found to be, by and large, more in the case of OAP and DWP as compared to PHP. Table 3.4: Distribution of Pensioner Households by Caste (per cent) Caste Old age Widow Disability SC ST Backward Caste Minorities Others (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. House Type, Sanitation and Possession of Ration Cards Table 3.5 provides basic details on the sample households. The housing status of most of the sample households is not congenial; a large proportion of them live in semi-pucca or katcha 41

42 houses. The proportion of households staying in semi-pucca and katcha households was found to be higher in the case of OAP and DWP as compared to PHP. As far as sanitation is concerned, a very small proportion of the sample households have individual sanitation or access to community latrines. The proportion of households with individual sanitation and access to community latrines was reported to be far less in the case of OAP and DWP as compared to that of PHP. The distribution of households with ration card in Table 3.5 shows that the proportion of households with BPL cards was more than 89 per cent of the sample households. The situation across different schemes is not similar. The proportion of households with BPL cards was found to be relatively high in the case of DWP and OAP as compared to PHP. The above analysis implies that the socio-economic status of the er households is not better and across different beneficiaries, the status is still worse in the case of OAP and DWP. Table 3.5: Basic Household details of Pensioners (per cent) House status Old age Widow Disability Housing Status (%) No house Katcha Semi-Pucca Pucca RCC house (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Sanitation Status (%) Individual sanitation Community latrine Open defecation (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Possession of Ration Card (%) BPL Card - AAY BPL Card APL Card No ration card (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. 42

43 Size of the household and Age profile The data provided in Table 3.6 show that the proportion of females was found to be higher, accounting for about per cent, indicating a greater possibility of being exposed to risk in taking socio-economic and political decisions of life. Such uneven sex composition was reported to be quite high in the case of DWP and OAP households as compared to PHP. Table 3.6: Average Household Size among Pensioner Households Size of the family Old age Widow Disability Population (No) 268 (57.09) 604 (65.23) 636 (50.47) 1508 Size (No) Note: Figures in parenthesis indicate the share of females in the total number of household members. Source: Primary Survey. The average size of the family of the er households was estimated at 4 persons. It was found to be relatively high in the case of PHP as compared to that of OAP and DWP. It is quite evident that co-residence is less in the elderly and widowed households. The data on distribution of household members by age groups (Table 3.7 and Figure 3.1) illustrate that the age profile of the members of OAP households, followed by DWP, is not favourable as compared to that of PHP. This follows that the OAP and DWP households have a smaller proportion of members in the working age group as compared to PHP. The chances of being at risk are higher for the elderly and widowed. Table 3.7: Distribution of sample household members in Chitradurga by age and sex (%) Old age Widow Disability Age Male Female Male Female Male Female <= >=

44 Figure 3.1: Distribution of members of Sample Households by Age Groups (per cent) Distribution of household members (%) <= >=65 OAP DWP PHP Source: Primary Survey. Working Status The data (Table 3.8) on working status indicate that most of the household members are involved in causal wage employment in agriculture and non-agriculture followed by selfemployment, and at the same time, the proportion of members in the category of cannot work is also found to be high. Table 3.8: Distribution of Sample Household Members by Working Status (per cent) Working Status Old age Widow Disability Wage labourer in agriculture Wage labourer in non-agriculture Self-employed in agriculture Self -employed in non-agriculture Salaried employee Household work Unemployed Student Cannot work Too young to go to school No information (100) 268 (100) 604 (100) 636 (100) 1508 Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. 44

45 Across different er households, it has been found that the working status is not congenial. While a larger proportion of members of OAP households do not work, a larger proportion of members of DWP households are involved in casual wage employment in agriculture followed by non-agriculture. This follows that their occupational structure, especially in the case of OAP and DWP households, is not lucrative, regular or of the secure type. This has implications for the incidence of poverty in such households. PROFILE OF SAMPLE PENSIONERS Sex and Age of the Pensioners The data provided in Table 3.9 indicate that most of the sample ers are females, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total sample. The share of females in the case of OAP has been found to be relatively higher as compared to that of PHP. Therefore, most of the sample ers are females. Table 3.9: Distribution (%) of Pensioners by Sex in Chitradurga Sex Old age Widow Disability Male Female (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Figure 3.2 shows that the majority of elderly people obtaining, as expected, are more than 65 years. There are less than three per cent below the specified age limit. Though they might have produced the certificate of age proof, but judging by appearance, the nature of their work and cross verifying the household demographic profile, one can conclude that less than three per cent of ers are ineligible. The age profile of DWP indicates that most of the widowed are in the age group of years. In respect of PHP, the share of disabled persons is found to be more in the age group of and years, and not many elderly people. This follows that the age profile of persons receiving disability benefits is relatively better as compared to that of DWP. 45

46 Figure 3.2: Distribution of Sample Pensioners by age groups (per cent) Distribution of ers (%) Source: Primary Survey <= >=65 OAP DWP PHP Age groups Marital Status The marital status of the sample ers in a way depicts the underlying and observable features of the scheme. The data provided in Table 3.10 indicate that most of the ers are widowed; some of them are staying with their parents or brothers. In the case of OAP, the proportion of widow ers are found to be high followed by married ers. As far as disabled ers are concerned, the share of unmarried persons is found to be quite high. Table 3.10: Distribution of Pensioners by Marital Status (per cent) Marital status Old age Widow Disability Unmarried Married Widowed Separated (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Educational status Educational status of the members of the er households was found to be low. Most of them are illiterate, accounting for 64.4 per cent; going by different schemes, the proportion of illiterate was higher in respect of OAP and DWP as against PHP. It has been observed that most of the ers were educated up to the primary level of education. Educational status of PHP is found be much better as compared to OAP and DWP. 46

47 Table 3.11: Distribution of Pensioners by Educational Status (per cent) Educational level Old age Widow Disability Illiterate Yet to be admitted into school Pre-school Primary (1-7) High school (8-10) Pre-university Technical education Degree Post-graduation (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Working status The data on working status of the sample ers (Table 3.12) show that the most of them cannot work either due to aging or disability, accounting for about 38 per cent of the total sample ers. Across different schemes, the category of cannot work is quite significant in the case of PHP followed by OAP. Among those who are working, most of them are casual labourers in agricultural followed by non-agricultural occupations. The occupational status is found to be relatively better in the case of DWP followed by PHP. Table 3.12: Distribution of Pensioners by working status (%) Working Status Old age Pension Widow Disability Wage labourer in agriculture Wage labourer in non-agriculture Self-employed in agriculture Self employed in non-agriculture Salaried employee Household work Unemployed Student Cannot work Too young to go to school (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. 47

48 DELIVERY OF PENSIONS IN THE DISTRICT The data provided in Table 3.13 presents the composition of ers. The share of DWP is found to be higher accounting for per cent followed by PHP (35.91 per cent) and OAP (19.61 per cent). Table 3.13: Distribution of Sample Households (%) by Type of Pension Frequency Per cent Old age Widow Disability Source: Primary Survey. Extent of disability Figure 3.3 provides the data on the distribution of disabled persons by the extent of their disability recorded from the authorised certificate. The data show that the proportion of disabled persons with per cent of disability is found to be quite high, accounting for per cent. The proportion of persons with more than 75 per cent of disability, who may not be able to work, is reported to be per cent. The proportion of persons with less than per cent disability, who can involve themselves in some petty business, is estimated at per cent. 48

49 Figure 3.3: Distribution of Disabled Persons by Extent of their Disability (per cent) Disability persons (%) 40 PHP % % >75 % No information Extent of disability Source: Primary Survey. Number of Other ers in a household An effort has been made to estimate the proportion of other members receiving in a household. It has been found (Table 3.14) that about 14 per cent of the sample households have reported that they other members in a household received s. It was found to be relatively high in the case of OAP (23.94 per cent), followed by PHP (16.15 per cent) and DWP (8.70 per cent). It is the elderly people who depended greatly on the benefits provided by the government. Table 3.14: Percentage of Pensioner Households receiving more than one Whether any one else in your household receives Old age Widow Disability Yes No (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Year of Obtaining the Pension The data provided in Table 3.15 indicate that the proportion of people obtaining benefits started to increase significantly from 2000 onwards. The increase was reported to be quite significant in the case of OAP followed by PHP and DWP. This implies that the government provision of social benefits has not stagnated; instead more and more people have been brought under the benefit cycle. 49

50 Table 3.15: Distribution of Pensioners by Year of Obtaining the Pension (per cent) Year obtaining Pension Old age Widow Disability Before After No information (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Where did they obtain s? An attempt has been made to explore whether the ers, especially in the case of the elderly and widows, have changed their place of residence and the delivery of after some time due to insecurity that they face. If there is a change in the location, how does the scheme get transferred to the present location? The data on the distribution of ers by the place of delivery provided in Table 3.16 indicate that most of the ers have reported that they have received at the present location, accounting for about 99 per cent. It has been observed that most of the destitute widows who stay with their parents or brothers got the after they came back from their in-laws house. Therefore, there is no change in the location of delivery of. In the case of OAP, about 3 per cent of them have reported that they have received the at a different place for the first time and subsequently got it transferred to the present location. Table 3.16: Distribution of Pensioners by the Place where Pensioner obtained the Pension for the first time (%) Place of obtaining for the first time Old age Widow Disability At the present location At different place (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. 50

51 Do they possess the sanction letter? The data provided in Table 3.17 show that most of the ers have reported that they have the sanctioning letter, accounting for 92 per cent. The remainder had it but could not locate or trace the letter at the time of enumeration. The ers who got the about years ago have not kept the sanctioning letter with them. In this regard, not much difference across the different schemes is noticed. Even then, in the case of OAP such cases are found to be more as compared to the other schemes. Table 3.17: Percentage of Pensioners possessing sanction letter or Pension Card in Chitradurga Does the er possess sanction letter or card? Old age Widow Disability Yes No (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Working status before obtaining the s The data on the distribution of ers by their working status before obtaining the (Table 3.18) indicate that the proportion of ers doing nothing is found to be quite high. Among those who were working, most of them were wage labourers in agricultural and non-agricultural occupations. This proportion was found to be quite significant in the case of DWP and OAP. It is evident that even before they receive the, the occupational status of the ers was of the casual and low paid type. Table 3.18: Distribution of Pensioners by their working status before obtaining the Pensions (%) Working status before obtaining Pensions Old age Widow Disability Wage labour in agriculture Wage labour in non-agriculture Cultivator Nothing Others (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. 51

52 DELIVERY MECHANISM Where the is delivered An attempt has been made to explore where the was delivered, whether this was done at the doorstep, local post office or at the central place in the village. The data provided in Table 3.19 indicate that the proportion of ers receiving at their doorstep is estimated at per cent, followed the local post office, accounting for per cent. Going by different schemes, the proportion of ers receiving at their doorstep is found to be more in the case of DWP and PHP as compared to that of OAP. It is evident that the benefit is delivered at the doorstep of the beneficiaries. Table 3.19: Distribution of Pensioners by the place of receiving the Pension (%) Where do you usually receive the Pension Old age Widow Disability At the door step Local post office Local bank At a central place Other places (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Who delivers the? The present strategy to deliver is through the post office. Most of the ers receive their from the postman through the money order sent by the treasury. Arrangement if er is not present in the village An effort has been made to elicit the mechanism to deliver the benefit when the er is not present in the village. In the absence of the er, how the is delivered by the postman reflects the delivery mechanism of the benefit. The data provided in Table 3.20 indicate that the proportion of the ers, who would inform the postman when they are not present in the village to receive the, is found to be quite high, accounting for a little less than two-thirds of the ers. If the postman has not been informed, then they would to post office to receive the. 52

53 Table 3.20: Distribution of Pensioners by their responses on how they manage to receive the when they are not present in the village (%) How do they manage to get when they are not present? Old age Widow Disability Go to post office Authorize relatives to receive Postman will be informed Others (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. DELAY IN THE DELIVERY OF PENSION One of the important problems of ers is that there has been considerable delay in the delivery of the benefit. This delay varies across locations (rural and urban). It must be mentioned that the delay in the delivery of the benefit would nullify the basic objectives of the scheme. The delay may take place at different places with varying degrees. An effort has been made to estimate the extent of delay in the delivery of benefits at the doorsteps of the ers. Perception on the Delay Table 3.21 presents the perception of the ers on the delay in delivery of benefits. The data show that almost all the ers have reported that there has been a delay in the delivery of the benefit with varying degrees, ranging from a few weeks to more than three months. A great majority of the ers have reported that there has been a delay of two months. It was found to be relatively higher in the case of OAP as compared to other schemes. From our observations, it has been learnt that many ers have reported that the delay has become problematic for them. Has there been any improvement in the timeliness? The data provided in Table 3.22 show that the proportion of ers reporting that the timeliness in the delivery of s has vastly improved was found to be very less, accounting for 10.8 per cent. About 42 per cent of the sample ers have reported that some improvement took place in the timeliness of delivery of the. 53

54 The proportion of ers reporting that the timeliness in delivery of s has not improved was found to be quite significant. Though not much difference existed across different s, it was found to be relatively high in the case of OAP and DWP as compared to PHP. It is evident that a larger proportion of ers have reported that there has been little improvement in the timeliness in delivery of benefits. Table 3.21: Perceptions of Pensioners (%) on the Extent of delay in receiving benefits in the last six months Duration of delay in the delivery of Old age Widow Disability No delay A few weeks A month Two months Three months and above (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Table 3.22: Perceptions of Pensioners (%) on improvement in the timeliness of delivery Timeliness of Old age Widow delivery Disability Vastly Improved Somewhat improved Not improved (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. UNAUTHORISED PAYMENT Payment to the postman The data provided in Table 3.23 show that a great majority of the ers have reported that they have paid the postman, accounting for 65.5 per cent. The share of bank officials was found to be negligible. It can also be noted that the proportion of ers paying money to the postman was found to be higher in the case of PHP followed by DWP and OAP. 54

55 Table 3.23: Distribution of Pensioners by their responses on the payment at the time of receiving the (per cent) Payment to the following at the Old age Widow Disability time of receiving the Postman Bank official None (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Why were unauthorised payments made? It has been observed that there is a practice of paying money to the postman. An effort has been made to elicit whether it was demanded or voluntarily paid. The data provided in Table 3.24 indicate that most of the ers have reported that the payment was made to the postman, as it was demanded. Across different schemes, it can be noted that the proportion of ers paying money due to demands by the postman was found to be higher in the case of OAP and DWP as compared to that of PHP. On the other hand, the proportion of ers who voluntarily paid the postman was reported to be quite lowin the case of OAP and DWP as compared to that of PHP. Table 3.24: Distribution of Pensioners by their responses on whether the payment was made voluntarily or not (per cent) Was the amount demanded Old age Widow Disability or voluntarily paid? Demanded Voluntarily paid Not applicable (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. BEHAVIOUR OF DELIVERY AGENT The data provided in Table 3.25 show that about 92 per cent of the ers have reported that the behaviour of the postman is polite/ cordial at the time of delivery of the. The proportion of ers reporting the behaviour of the postman as indifferent and arrogant/rough was quite low. Going by different schemes, the data indicate that the 55

56 proportion of ers reporting the behaviour of the postman as polite/cordial was found to be relatively low in respect of OAP and DWP as compared to that of PHP. The cases of indifferent or arrogant/rough behaviour were more in the case of OAP and DWP as against PHP. The behaviour of the postman has something to do with the payment made to him at the time of delivery of the. It is evident that if the payment is not made to him, the behaviour will be indifferent or arrogant at the time of delivery of the. Table 3.25: Distribution of Pensioners by their statement on the behaviour of the postman and bank officials while delivering (%) Behaviour of postman/ bank officials Old age Widow Disability Polite/cordial Indifferent Arrogant/rough (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. What Factors influence the behaviour of the postman? The data on the distribution of ers by the range of amounts paid to the postman (Table 3.26) indicate that most of the ers have paid Rs 10 to 20 at the time of delivery of the, accounting for 64 per cent. It was found to quite high in the case of OAP and DWP as compared to that of PHP. There are some cases where the PHP have even paid more to the postman. It is obvious that the behaviour of the postman is largely determined by the amount of money paid to him. It is learnt that for those who pay more money, the information about the release of the MO would be informed well in advance on a specific date so as to ensure their presence in the village. 56

57 Table 3.26: Distribution of Pensioners by the commission amount paid to the person who delivers the (per cent) Amount (in Rs.) paid to the person who delivers the Old age Widow Disability <= > Not applicable (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. Working status before and after receiving the An effort has been made to examine the changes in the working status of the ers after they started receiving the benefits. The data provided in Table 3.27 indicate that most of the ers continued to remain wage labourers either in agricultural or non-agricultural occupations. Among those who were working, there was an occupational shift in favour of self-employment (agriculture and non-agriculture) and regular salaried/wage employment (helper, peon, etc). At the same, the category of cannot work also increased owing to ageing of the ers. Table 3.27: Distribution of old age ers by their current and previous working status (per cent) Current working status Previous working status Wage labourer in agriculture Wage labourer in nonagriculture Selfemployed in agriculture Self-employed in non-agriculture Salaried employee Household work Unemploy ed Student Cannot work Too young to go to school Wage labour in agriculture Wage labour in non-agriculture Cultivator Nothing Others Note: Figures italicised represent column per centages Source: Primary Survey 57

58 Table 3.28 presents data on the distribution of widow ers by their working status before and after receiving. The data show that for most of the widow ers, there was no change in the occupational status; they continued to be wage labourers in agriculture followed by non-agriculture. There is also occupational mobility from wage labour to self-employment and salaried employment in the private sector (at lower levels). Table 3.28: Distribution of widow ers by their current and previous working status (per cent) Current working status Previous working status Wage labourer in agriculture Wage labourer in nonagriculture Selfemployed in Self-employed in agriculture non- agriculture Salaried employee Household work Unemploy ed Student Cannot work Too young to go to school Wage labour in agriculture Wage labour in non-agriculture Cultivator Nothing Others Note: Figures in italics represent column percentages Source: Primary Survey The data presented in Table 3.29 show that although the category of cannot work dominates, some proportion of those who were doing nothing and working as wage labour began to take up some petty business such as a grocery shop, small tea stall, vegetable vending shop, etc., thereby contributing to the household income. The shift in occupational structure should only partly be attributed to the provision of benefits and that we should note that other factors may have also been at work. Wage labourer in agriculture Wage labourer in nonagriculture Table 3.29: Distribution of disability ers by their current and previous working status (per cent) Current working status Previous Self- working status employed in agriculture Self-employed in non-agriculture Salaried employee Household work Unemploy ed Student Cannot work Too young to go to school Wage labour in agriculture Wage labour in non-agriculture Cultivator Nothing Others Note: Figures in italics represent column percentages. Source: Primary Survey 58

59 Security Provided by Pensions The data provided in Table 3.30 indicate that most of the ers have reported that they feel more secure with the provision of. It is found to be more in the case of PHP followed by OAP and DWP. The proportion of ers reporting that the level of security following the provision of is the same as before is estimated to be more than onethird of the ers. In some cases, especially in the case of elderly widowed people, it has been observed that is the major or only source of living. Table 3.30: Distribution of Pensioners by their statements on level of security after they started to receive the (%) Level of security Old age Widow Disability More secure Same as before Not feeling secure (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. ISSUES RELATING TO THE INELIGIBLE PENSIONERS The provision of benefits is meant for the destitute and poor households which fulfil certain eligibility conditions. Different schemes have their own eligibility criteria. The present study has found certain issues relating to ineligibility for obtaining benefits. Issues relating ineligibility on account of age, overstatement of the extent of disability, and income more than specified limit are discussed below. One of the important eligibility criteria for OAP is that age should be more than 65 years (under certain conditions the age limit is relaxed). The person of less than 65 years is not eligible for obtaining the benefit. The data provided in Table 3.31 show that only in the case of 8 out of 71 beneficiaries was the age less than 65 years. While two of them could not work, three of them were undertaking either wage work in agriculture or salaried employment. Two persons were involved in household work. The age in respect to these persons was verified with EPIC or ration card. The data provided in Table 3.32 show that five out of 8 ers obtained the benefit after

60 Table 3.31: Distribution of old age ers by age and current working status (%) Current working status Wage Age group Wage labourer in nonagriculemployed Self- Selfemployed in Too young labourer in in non- Salaried Househo Cannot to go to agriculture ure agriculture agriculture employee ld work work school (Actual) (2.8) (8.5) >= (88.7) (100) Note: The figures in parenthesis indicate column percentages. Source: Primary Survey The ineligibility on account of the overstatement of the extent of disability is also an important issue. The data presented in Table 3.33 illustrate that in the range of more than 75 per cent of disability, a larger proportion of ers are working as agricultural labourers. This raises the issue of eligibility to obtain the benefit by stating the accurate extent of their disability. Table 3.32: Distribution of old age ers by age and starting year of obtaining the old age (%) Starting year of obtaining the old age Age group 1995 & before After 2005 No information >= Source: Primary Survey It has been learnt from our interactions with some of the ers that the extent of disability is quite possible to overestimate so as to make the person eligible for the benefit. This becomes a critical issue for identification of the ineligible ers. Another important eligibility criterion for the benefit is the income limit. The household with an annual income of more than Rs 6000 is not eligible. An effort has been made to estimate the gross annual income of the household from all the sources. 60

61 Table 3.33: Distribution of disability ers by proportion of disability and current working status (%) % of disability Wage labourer in agriculture Wage labourer in nonagriculture Selfemployed in agriculture Self-employed in non-agriculture Current working status Salaried Household Unemp employee work loyed Student Cannot work Too young to go to school % % >75 % No information Source: Primary Survey The data provided in Table 3.34 indicate that the proportion of households earning gross annual income more than Rs 6000 is estimated at 89 per cent. Only 11 per cent of the er households with income less than Rs 6000 are eligible for the benefit. The ineligibility by the income parameter was found to be relatively high in the case of PHP followed by DWP and OAP. Table 3.34: Distribution of Pensioners by their Household Annual Income (%) annual income (in Rs.) Old age Widow Disability <= > (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. It can also be noted that if the annual household income of Rs 18, 000 is considered as the state poverty line, even then a great majority of the ers becomes ineligible, roughly accounting for 63.6 per cent. The data provided in Table 3.35 show that the proportion of ers earning monthly per capita income in the range of Rs was found to be quite significant, accounting for 39 per cent. 61

62 Table 3.35: Distribution of ers by the monthly per capita income (%) Monthly per capita income (in Rs.) Old age Widow Disability <= > (71) 100 (161) 100 (130) 100 (362) Note: Figures in parenthesis are actual numbers. Source: Primary Survey. CONCLUSIONS The foregoing analysis reveals that the proportion of PHP increased at a faster rate, while the proportion of OAP showed a smaller increase during to The proportion of DWP declined during the same period. The annual growth rate of PHP was found to be higher when compared to OAP and DWP during the same period. This follows that there has been a greater growth in the number of disabled persons obtaining benefits in the district. There has also been a rapid increase in expenditure during the same period. This shows the continued commitment on the part of the state to provide social security benefits to the destitute and poor in the district. Based on the primary data collected from 362 sample er households in the district, it has been found that most of the ers are Hindus followed by Muslims, covering the main religion of the district. A great majority of the ers are from the socioeconomically disadvantaged sections of the society such as STs, SCs and OBCs. It was found to be relatively higher in the case of OAP and DWP, as compared to that of PHP. Most of the members of the er households are females. The average size of the household was found to be higher in the case of PHP as compared to DWP and OAP, implying that coresidence with elderly people and widows was observed to be less. The age profile of the members of the er households is not favourable, especially in the case of OAP and DWP; most of them are not in the working age groups. The housing status of the er household in not congenial in the case of OAP and DWP as compared PHP. A great majority of the er households do not have access to sanitation, mainly depending on open defecation, especially in the case of OAP and DWP. Most of the er households have 62

63 BPL cards. It is evident that the socio-economic status of the ers, especially in the case of OAP and DWP was found to be very poor. The distribution of the members of er households by their working status show that most of the members are wage labourers in agricultural followed by non-agricultural occupations. Across different schemes, the occupational structure was found to be better in the case of PHP as compared to that of OAP and DWP. The data on the profile of the sample ers show that most of the ers are females. Educational status of the ers was not better; most of them were illiterates, especially in the case of OAP and DWP. A great majority of the ers do not work due to their age or disability. Among those who are working, most of them are causal workers. The working age profile of the DWP is better than that of the PHP. There seems to the occupational diversification in favour of non-agricultural work after receiving the. Disabled persons seem to have taken up some petty business such as a small grocery shop, tea stall, vegetable vending shop, etc., after receiving the. A great majority of the disabled persons tend to fall in the range of % of disability. The proportion of ers began to rise rapidly from 2000 onwards. Most of the ers possess their sanctioning letter. In most cases, the was delivered at the doorstep of the er household. The average expenditure incurred to obtain the benefit was estimated at Rs 265. Going by different schemes, it was found to be higher in the case of PHP, as compared to that of OAP and DWP. It has been found that a great majority of the ers have reported that there is a delay of more than two months in the delivery of. The proportion of ers reporting no improvement in the timeliness of delivery was found to be quite significant. It has been reported that most of the ers usually pay some money (Rs 10) to the postman, while receiving the. The payment made to the postman was found to be higher in the case of PHP as compared to that of OAP and DWP. Most of the ers have reported that the payment made to the postman was demanded; it is more so in the case of OAP and DWP. The behaviour of the postman was reported to be polite/cordial by most of the ers, while delivering the. 63

64 The working status of the ers has changed after started receiving the. Although, the category of cannot work has been important, there has been occupational mobility in favour of the non-agricultural sector. This can be partly attributed to the provision of. It is quite possible that the ers, after accumulating, may start to undertake some petty business to earn their bread and butter, as most of them do not have any other livelihood options. A great majority of the ers have felt that the provision of the has made them feel more secure. The study has identified certain issues relating to ineligibility for obtaining the benefit. Ineligibility on account of age, overstatement of the extent of disability, and income more than the specified limit are some of the issues, which make many ers ineligible for obtaining the benefit. 64

65 4. Delivery of Social Security and Pension Benefits in Gulbarga District INTRODUCTION In this Chapter, we will discuss the delivery of s in Gulbarga, one of the three districts selected for this study. This chapter is based on the survey carried out in January 2009 (from December 31, 2008 to January 10, 2009) in Gulbarga district. As part of the study, 353 ers were surveyed in two taluks of Gulbarga district i.e., Gulbarga and Aland. The sample for the study was selected using the cluster sampling method. An attempt was made to give proportionate representation to all the three categories of ers, i.e., Old Age Pensioners (OAP), Destitute Widow Pensioners (DWP) and Physically Handicapped or Disability Pensioners (PHP). Thus, the sample comprised 181 OAP (51%), 110 widow (31%), and 62 PHP (18%) ers. In the first section of the chapter, we will provide the progress of the schemes. This will be followed by a discussion on the delivery mechanism adopted in the district. After discussing the profile of er households and ers in Sections 3 and 4, we will take up the delivery of s in the remaining sections. PROGRESS OF THE PENSION SCHEMES Table 4.1 shows the growth rate of OAP, PHP and DWP s between 2005 and The data show that there has been a slight increase in the number s given across the schemes from to However, there has been a dip in the number of s given in 2008, which is higher for OAP (23 %) followed by PHP (8 %) and DWP (0.59 %). The decline in the number of s given in 2008 was largely due to the cancellation of s around September 2007 to curb bogus cases a measure initiated by the Deputy Commissioner. The schemes were revived after re-enquiry in January In the re-enquiry, only those who attended the enquiry camp or applied were covered. As a result, the number of ers has come down. The process is still on to identify deserving cases. The officials said that they have received a number of applications in recent months due to Janaspandana. For instance, more than 1100 applications were received in Gulbaraga taluk itself, of which 681 applications were cleared. Thus, there is a possibility of an increase in the number of s in the district in the months to come. 65

66 Table 4.1: Growth rate of number of ers in Gulbarga district Scheme Number of beneficiaries (Dec-08) % of growth over OAP PHP DWP SSY Despite a decline in the number of s in the district, there has been a sharp rise (411%) in the expenditure (including that on administration) incurred on the schemes. This is primarily due to an increase in the amount in However, the increase in the amount from Rs. 400 to Rs in the case of PHP ers with more than 75 % disability has not come into force as applicants are not aware of the procedural requirement i.e., resubmitting the disability certificate along with the enhancement letter. Once this increase comes into force, the expenditure may rise in the case of PHP. There is also a chance for a sharp rise in the district level expenditure on these s on account of the sanctioning of SSY s. On the whole, the expenditure on these schemes is likely to increase further by the end of the current financial year, as there is a possibility of new sanctions under different schemes. The discussion with treasury revealed that there is no problem with the budget as the funds will come from non-plan expenditure. If non-plan funds are exhausted, supplementary grants will be allotted such a situation has not arisen so far. Table 4.2: Growth rate in expenditure (Rs.) on Pensions in Gulbarga Scheme Expenditure (Dec-08) % of growth over OAP PHP DWP SSY

67 DELIVERY MECHANISM AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL As part of the study, discussions were held with the concerned officials with a view to gain insights on the process involved in delivering various s and also to understand their perception of these schemes. In this regard detailed discussions were held with Postal department officials, Treasury officials and officials from the Tahsildar s office. The s are distributed either through post offices or banks. More than 95 % of the s in the district were distributed through post offices. Once the sanction order is issued, it is the responsibility of the Treasury to send every month 1. The sub-treasury officer sends the amount in the form of a cheque for every 100 Money Orders (MOs) to the Taluk Head Post Office. From the taluk post office, the amount is sent to the sub-post offices for booking of MOs. It was learnt that the process of booking the MOs at the sub-post offices takes about a week s time. From the sub-post offices, the MOs will be sent to the post offices. At the post office level, the postmaster has to make indents to the sub-post office, obtain the amount, and arrange for the distribution of money to the ers through the postman. It was informed that the postman could carry a maximum of Rs.10,000 per day for this purpose. It appears that this rule has been relaxed now, and the post man can carry up to Rs.20,000 per day. In cases of unclaimed MOs, the amount has to be sent back to the treasury. At the treasury level, the amount will be kept under sus for three months, and thereafter will be stopped. The banks are also supposed to send the un-drawn amount to the treasury after three months.however, there is no mechanism to address the unclaimed cases from the Treasury to the Tehsildar s office. A few ers were receiving the through their bank accounts. The existing procedure for distributing through banks stipulates that the er has to open a savings bank account at any bank branch, fill-up the prescribed application form, and hand it over to the sub-treasury officer. In such cases, the amount is sent to the concerned bank branches, where it is credited to the account of the er every month. However, the number of ers receiving the through banks is very small. 1 The photographs and the fingerprints of the ers are being recorded and the ers are being issued a Fingerprint Enrolment Copy as an acknowledgement. 67

68 Table 4.3: Problems/ difficulties encountered by the Departments Revenue Department Pension stopped in September 2007 Revived in January 2008 after reenquiry Inward section receives applications from 6 circles Used to receive applications per month With Janaspandana in November 2009 alone received 1130 applications 680 cleared Received applications sent to RI/VA- Submit back to Tahasildar after enquiry Each VA will cover 500 ers- needs to enquire, monitor sanctioned cases, keep records and report from time to time. The workload is much higher in urban localities. The increased amount PHP Not implemented as there was no application from ers for enhancement 2. Tahasildar issues sanction order copy to Treasury After sanctioning expected to monitor through RI/VA once in a year Treasury office Treasury releases s after receiving order form (and now xerox of bank pass book and thumb impression) 3 head accountants is one of her/his responsibilities Each Head accountant needs to look into 300 books (each 100 applications)- 50 % workload now Preparation of list, verification and entering into books Previously used to release once in four months due to shortage to MO, manual preparation of list, etc. Now delivers every month or once in two months. Computerization has really helped in streamlining the process Computer personnel do data entry (addition & deletion) Head accountants need to verify, cross check books and process for release after obtaining approval from DTO; in the case of sub-treasury officer she/he needs to get approval from DTO Printer for 7 departments- MO printing takes at least 2 days Preparation of list after taking stock of cancelled/suspended and new sanctions Post office 7-15 days taken for taking amount into account and processing by forwarding section Request from village post office and release of money will take one week Delay in cash transfer as rural post office can draw only up to Rs. 20,000 (increased) Delivery at local post office in about 3-5 days Started delivering by taking police escort permission takes 2-3 days Non-delivered s are kept for 15 days and returned - received amount will be returned to treasury takes more than 3 months information is supposed to be furnished once in 3 months. In reality, even after demands, treasury receives once in a month Postal network inspector attends to complaints Pensions are delivered like any other MO- No special process Information on returned MO to treasury once in six months 2 It was learnt that the certificate from a civil surgeon is required for sanction of where the disability ranged between 40% and 74%. In case the disability was 75% and above, a certificate from the district medical board is insisted upon for sanction of. 68

69 PROFILE OF SAMPLE HOUSEHOLDS The profile of sample households is analysed here in terms of religion and caste categories, household details, sex-wise distribution of household members, age group, marital status, education level, occupational profile and dependency ratio, which will enable us to understand the socio- economic background of those banded under the social security status. Social profile: The distribution of ers in Gulbarga by religion (Table 4.4) indicates that a vast majority were Hindus (79%), while the rest were Muslims 1.5%) and Christians. It may be noted that just about 1% of ers were Christians. This trend was seen across the types. However, the proportion of Muslims was higher in the case of PHP when compared with other categories. This is probably due to the high incidence of polio because of neglect of polio vaccination. Table 4.4: Distribution of Pensioner Households in Gulbarga by Religion and Pension Type (%) Religion OAP DWP PHP Hindu Muslim Christians The distribution of ers by caste category (Table 4.5) reveals that the SCs accounted for one-fourth of ers (24.9%). There is almost an equal number, (one-fifth for each category), of OCs, minorities and BCs in the sample. ST households comprise 14 % of the sample. It may be noted that 79 % of the sample members belong to weaker sections of the society in terms of social status. Further analysis shows that SC households are the predominant group in the case of old age and widow s, while it is the minorities for disability. In the OAP category, ST households constitute the second largest group followed by BCs and minorities with 69

70 both groups having equal representation in the sample. In the case of widow and disability s, OCs constitute the second largest group. Table 4.5: Distribution of Pensioner Households in Gulbarga by Caste and Type of Pension (%) Caste Category OAP DWP PHP SC ST BC Minorities Others Housing and sanitation: As regards the housing status of the sample households (Table 4.6), nearly 46% of the ers were residing in Katcha houses and 33% in semi-pucca houses. The worst-case scenario was observed in the case of 9 % of the sample ers, who were without their own house and lived in squatter settlements or a rented place. The percentage of ers without their own house was slightly higher in DWP and PHP. On the other hand, 13 % of the ers who were residing in Pucca and RCC houses represent the bestcase scenario. It is evident that the ers residing in pucca and RCC house are higher for OAP, followed by DWP. Thus, it may be concluded that a majority of PHP ers have poor housing status. Table 4.6: Access of Pensioners to Housing, Sanitation and PDS (%) in Gulbarga OAP (N=181) DWP (N=110) PHP (N=62) (N=353) House status No house Katcha Semi-Pucca Pucca RCC house Sanitation facility Individual sanitation Community latrine Open defecation Type of ration card BPL Card - AAY BPL Card - Akshaya APL Card No ration card

71 Availability of sanitation facilities indicates to some extent the economic condition of a household. Sanitation facilities are important for all the three categories due to their physical and disadvantaged conditions. The data show that less than 18 % of the sample ers were having sanitation facility individual latrine for 13.3 % ers and community latrines for 3.4 % of ers. In terms of individual latrines, PHP and OAP ers were slightly better positioned than DWP. However, DWP ers are better positioned with regard to community latrines. Access to Public Distribution System: With regard to access to PDS, it was found that about 59 % of the ers had accessed BPL-Akshaya cards. In addition, about 26% of the ers also got BPL-AAY cards. The data further show that 8% of the ers possess APL cards. It is a matter of concern that 7.6% of the ers had no access to PDS, which is higher in the case of OAP followed by DWP. Gender and age group composition: The household composition of the ers (Table 4.7) indicates that there are more females (53.4 %) when compared to male members (46.6 %). Of the three categories of s, the female population is higher in DWP. Therefore, the sex ratio of ers households is higher when compared to the district population as whole. This is due to the presence of more female household ers among the widow and old age household ers. The average household size worked out to 4.3, being higher among the disability households (5.6) followed by OAP and DWP. Table 4.7: Distribution of sample Household members in Gulbarga by sex (%) Sex OAP DWP PHP Male Female Household size The age group composition of the sample household members (Table 4.8) indicates that children (14 years and below) constituted 22.6 % of the household members. The aged (above 65 years) accounted for 16 %, with higher percentage for OAP households (22.5%) and lower for PHP (7%). On the whole, about 61 % of the household members belonged to the economically productive age group, with a slightly lower percentage for OAP households (59%) when compared with DWP and PHP. Further analysis revealed the following: 71

72 25 % of the household members were above 55 years of age. In the case of households getting old age, 34 % are above 55 years. This suggests the possibility of dependents and earnings members in a majority of these households. The households receiving disability have more people in the age group of years (60%). Table 4.8: Distribution of sample HH members in Gulbarga by age (%) Age Group OAP DWP PHP <= > Marital Status: The marital status of the sample households indicates (Table 4.9) that 14 % of the members are widows (12.6) or single women (1.4%) separated or divorced. Thus, there are 231 single women in these households, of these only 110 members were receiving widow. Some of these may be receiving old age. So, there is a need to cover the members who have been left out. Table 4.9: Distribution of sample Household members in Gulbarga by marital status (%) Marital status OAP DWP PHP Unmarried Married Widowed Divorced Separated Deserted Educational Profile: The educational profile of the household members (Table 4.10) shows that more than half of them (51.9 %) were illiterate. The illiterate members are higher in OAP 72

73 households, followed by DWP and PHP. The data also show that 41 % of the members were educated; of them 21 % studied up to the primary level, 13 % high school, 4 % pre-university and 3 % Degree or technical education. The literacy levels are higher in the case of DWP (47%), followed by PHP (44%) and OAP (37%). On the whole literacy levels among ers families are low. Table 4.10: Distribution of sample household members by educational level (%) in Gulbarga Educational level OAP DWP PHP Illiterate Yet to be admitted into school Primary (1-7) High school (8-10) Pre-university Technical education Degree Post graduation Occupational Profile: The occupational status of the ers (Table 4.11) indicates that nearly one-third of the household members were involved as wage labourers in agriculture. While 6.7 % of the household members were involved in non-agricultural wage labour, 6.2 % of them were self-employed in the service sector. A small proportion of members were agriculturists (2.7%) and salaried employees (2.1%). The percentage of the household member who cannot work is 29.7, which is more for PHP, followed by DWP and OAP. Table 4.11: Distribution of sample Household members by working status (%) in Gulbarga Work status OAP DWP PHP Wage labourer in agriculture Wage labourer in non-agriculture Self-employed in agriculture Self-employed in manufacturing/ hotel/ transport/personal services Salaried employee Cannot work Household work Others (unemployed, student, children, etc)

74 PROFILE OF THE SAMPLE PENSIONERS In a sample of 353 ers, the group receiving old age s accounts for the largest slightly more than half, distantly followed by those who are receiving destitute widow, forming about one-third. One out of every six ers covered in the sample received disability. Table 4.12: Distribution of ers according to type of Particulars Number Percentage OAP DWP PHP The analysis in this regard reveals that females constitute three-fourths of the sample, and across the type of s, this trend is by and large reflected in the OAP group. But in the disability group, males outnumber their female counterparts by about 20 per cent (the actual figures are 59 and 41 respectively). Further, all ers falling in the category of DWP are females only (benefits under this category are extended to destitute women only). Table 4.13: Distribution of ers according to sex and type of Sex Old age Widow Disability Male Female At the aggregate level, ers aged above 60 years constitute 46 per cent of the sample, distantly followed by those in the age group of 50 to 60 years (22 per cent). But this trend is not uniformly reflected across the three groups of ers covered in the study. In so far as the age group of OAP ers is concerned, about one third of them belong to the age group of years while the rest ( of this group) are above 60 years. (This calls for further verification as the infiltration ratio of 74

75 ineligible persons - less than 60 years - is of a larger magnitude). As regards the DWP category, about one third of the ers each belong to the age groups of 30-50, and above 60 years. But in the case of PHP, as expected, children up to 14 years constitute a majority (about one-third), followed by about one-fifth in the age group of years. It can further be seen from the table that one out of every 10 ers covered in the category is above 60 years of age. Table 4.14: Distribution of Pensioners in Gulbarga by age (%) Age group Old age Widow Disability <= > In the overall sample, married and widowed ers covered are in the same magnitude (about 45 per cent each). Further, while the unmarried account for 7 per cent, the sample is composed of divorced, separated and deserted also, but their numbers are very small. Across the three groups of ers, married is the majority group with 68 per cent in the OAP group, while widowed is a large majority (91 per cent) in the DWP group. In the PHP group, besides married ers accounting for 52 per cent, the unmarried also are sizeable (about 38 per cent). In this group the widowed are also present, but their incidence is not more than 10 per cent. Table 4.15: Marital status of ers (%) Old age Widow Disability Marital status Unmarried Married Widowed Divorced Separated Deserted

76 The analysis reveals that the literacy level is abysmally low (about 10 per cent) in the overall sample, and this trend more or less is reflected across the OAP and DWP groups. In the disability group, though illiterates are a majority, their number is confined to only about three-fifths. Table 4.16: Educational level of Pensioners (%) Educational level Old age Widow Disability Illiterate Yet to be admitted into school Primary (1-7) High school (8-10) Pre-university Technical education Degree Post graduation It is evident from the table that about one-tenth of the households covered for the study did not have any earning members and among the rest, the number varies from one to 10 earning members. For the study group as a whole, each household has 2.04 earning members. But considerable variation in this figure is seen across the three groups. While the PHP group emerges as the one with the largest number of earning members of 2.25, DWP falls at the other extreme with a corresponding figure of 1.70 earning members. The OAP group registers an average figure of 2.18 earning members per household. 76

77 Table 4.17: Distribution of ers in Gulbarga by number of working members (%) Number of working members Old age Widow Disability (22) 8.1 (9) 3.3 (2) 9.3 (33) (45) 44.1 (49) 29.5 (18) 31.7 (112) (55) 27.0 (30) 27.9 (17) 28.9 (102) (26) 13.5 (15) 23.0 (14) 15.6 (55) (20) 4.5 (5) 13.1 (8) 9.3 (33) (7) 2.7 (3) 1.6 (1) 3.1 (11) (3) 0.0 (0) 1.6 (1) 1.1 (4) (2) 0.0 (0) 0.0 (0) 0.6 (2) (1) 0.0 (0) 0.0 (0) 0.3 (1) No. of members 394 (2.18) 189 (1.70) 137 (2.25) 720 (2.04) Table 4.18 shows the per capita income among ers. It is evident that the per capita income is less than Rs.300 per month for 43.3 % of the ers. The per capita income for another 33 % of ers is in the range of Rs The rest of the ers have per capita income of more than Rs.600 with 9 % getting more than Rs.900 per month. Given the current income criteria, only 76.7 % of the members are eligible members. Table 4.18: Distribution of ers in Gulbarga by the monthly per capita income (%) Monthly per capita Old age Widow Disability income (in Rs.) <= > Even going by annual per capita income of the ers (Table 4.19), about 29 % of them are ineligible members. 77

78 Table 4.19: Distribution of ers in Gulbarga by the annual per capita income (%) Annual per capita income (in Rs.) Old age Widow Disability <= > PENSIONS As discussed above (Table 4.12), the sample for the study comprised 181 old age ers, 111 DWP and 61 PHP ers. Even though there was more than one er in some households, the information was collected with reference to the sample member only. Year of obtaining the : The distribution of sample ers by the year of obtaining (Table 4.20) shows that 27 % of the ers got sanction between 2001 and About 23% of the ers obtained between 1996 and 2000 and 19% after It may be noted that 17 % of the sample members got before Table 4.20: Distribution of ers by year of obtaining the (%) Year Old age % Widow % Disability % % Up to After No information Number of ers in a household: In addition to the sample respondents, there were a few others from sample households obtaining social security s. On the whole, there were 25% households, which comprised persons other than the respondent obtaining 78

79 (Table 4.21). The percentage of households that reported receiving more than one is higher in the case of OAP households (35%), followed by PHP (23%) and DWP (10%). Table 4.21: Percentage of Pensioner Households receiving more than one Whether anyone else in your HH receives? OAP DWP PHP Yes No Degree of disability: Among the disability ers, it was found that a majority (31 %) had a disability of 40-60%. The ers also reported 75 % disability (23%) and % (12%) disability. This information was obtained by verifying the doctor s certificate available with the respondents to the extent possible. Therefore, the respondents who did not show us certificates were grouped under no information (29.5%). Table 4.22: Distribution of Pensioners by extent of disability (%) Extent of disability Percentage 40 % % % 11.5 >75% 23.0 No information Where did they obtain? Almost all the sample members (99.7%) reported to have been receiving the from the beginning at the present location - all the OAP and DWP, ers and a majority of PHP. Only 1.6 % of disability ers reported that in the past they used to receive at a different location, implying that these members have resubmitted and got approval after they moved to a new location. The discussion in the field revealed that some members continue to receive at the old location with the help of neighbours, even after moving out of the place. 79

80 Table 4.23: Where Pensioner obtained the for the first time (%) Place of obtained for the first time Old age Widow Disability At the present location At different Place Do they have sanction letter? As regards the possession of the sanction letter, a majority of the sample members (93%) had the sanction letter with them. About 7 % do not have the sanction letter with them, as they have kept it with others for safety (as the document is considered valuable) or have kept it with middlemen due to their dependency on them. Some even reported having kept the documents with the post office. Table 4.24: Percentage of Pensioners possessing Sanction Letter Response Old age Widow Disability Yes No DELIVERY MECHANISM Where the is delivered: As per the design, the postman is expected to deliver the s at the doorstep. The data indicate that about 80 % of the ers were receiving at their doorstep. It may be important to note that 18 % of the ers were required to go to the post office to receive the - which is a common practice in small hamlets. The ers also reported going and waiting regularly at the post office, even in urban locations. A small proportion of the sample ers were collecting at a central place. Table 4.25: Distribution of Pensioners by the place of receiving the (%) Where do you usually receive the Old age Widow Disability? At the door step Local post office Local bank At a Central Place

81 Arrangement if er is not present in the village: The postman generally leaves a message with neighbours, if the er is not available at the time of his visit. In such cases, the ers will have to go and collect the from the post office within 15 days. It also emerged from the field discussions that in exceptional cases (e.g., handicapped persons and the aged) the amount may be delivered to family members, relatives and neighbours on authorisation. Very few instances of delivering the to middlemen came to light if a er is not living in a village. Delay in the delivery of s: As regards the delay in the distribution of, the ers used to receive s once in four months in the past. It was felt by the ers that the situation has improved considerably in the last six months, as the s have been delivered at least once in two months from June 2008 onwards. The information provided by the treasury office in Gulbarga also supports this view. Table 4.26: When s were released by Gulbarga treasury? June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 August 30, 2008 September 1, 2008 September 2008 October 1, 2008 October 2008 November 1, 2008 November December December 31, 2008 It is encouraging to note that the has been released every month, for at least three months, during the last six months. Consequently, the ers started receiving almost regularly - though they received the previous month s every time. Therefore, more than 28 % of the ers were of the view that they received the amount in the first week of the month. Nearly half of the ers reported that the delay in delivering s of was two months. Of the remaining ers, more than 14 % of them reported a delay of three months and above, a month s delay by 10 %. Table 4.27: Perceptions of Pensioners on Delay in receiving benefit in the last six months (%) Duration of delay in the delivery of Old age Widow Disability No delay always delivered In the first week of every month A month Two months Three months and above

82 As part of the study, information was sought on the extent of delay that has occurred in disbursement of by obtaining the actual date of receipt of recent (latest being October 2008 supposed to be received by November 2008) as mentioned in the MO receipt by verifying wherever such receipts were available with the respondents. In fact one of the ers has been maintaining a record of received from the beginning by taking the signature of the postman. In some places, the postman did not care to mention the date of distribution of. In such cases, the recall method was used to collect information in this regard. Though the s are to be distributed on a specific date/day in a month, the ground reality is different owing to many reasons. The data show that the delay ranges anywhere between a few days to 70 days - as the last received was for the month of September Table 4.28: Extent of delay in disbursement of Delay in days Number of hhs Per cent Up to Above Average :30.1, min- 4, max- 70 As per the information provided by the ers, the delay ranged from 4 days to 70 days, with an average of about 30 days. As will be seen from the table on this parameter, in about 43 per cent of the cases studied, the delay is more than one month. In the entire sample, there are 3 cases, where the delay is more than two months. This being the scenario at the ground level, urgent action is required to set things right. 82

83 Extent of delay Up to Above 61 delay in days UNAUTHORISED PAYMENTS Payment to the Postman: In response to a question posed whether any payment is made to anybody at the time of receiving the last, about 68% of the ers informed that they made payment to the postman whenever the was received. The amount paid to postman varied between Rs.5 to Rs.50. About 46 % of the ers reported that they paid Rs at the time of receiving. In some places, people informed that the norm is usually 5% of the amount; it is slightly more in some places and less in some other places. Table 4.29: Responses on the payment to the postman (%) Payment to the following at the time of receiving the OAP DWP PHP Postman Bank Official Middlemen None Demanded or voluntarily paid: Regarding the reasons for making payment to the postman, about 38 % informed that it was demanded by the postman. Some of them reported that it is customary for the postman to deduct some amount. On the other hand, 24 % of the ers informed that they voluntarily paid the amount to the postman, taking into account the risk he takes, even though as part of his duty, to carry the amount and distribute it to them at a considerable distance; in some cases, the postman has to travel more than 4 km to reach the village. It appears that the postman does not ask the ers who are very poor and in difficult conditions to pay. 83

84 Table 4.30: Perceptions of Pensioners on why payment was made (%) Was the amount demanded or Old age Widow Disability voluntarily paid? Demanded Voluntarily paid Not applicable No Information Behaviour of the Postman or Bank Officials: As regards the behaviour of the postman or bank officials at the time of distributing the, a vast majority (79%) of the ers reported that the behaviour of the person was polite/ cordial. About 7% reported the behaviour as indifferent, while only 5% reported it as arrogant/rough. Table 4.31: Perceptions of Pensioners (%) on the Behaviour of the postman Behaviour of postman/ bank officials Old age Widow Disability Polite/cordial Indifferent Arrogant/rough No Information The postman, generally, pays the after taking his cut. So, he has to be polite. One woman reported that she could not mange medical costs of her PHP child, as she has to pay the postman. She negotiated and brought down the amount from Rs.40 to Rs.30. In some cases the postman does not insist upon payment, if he considers the er to be really poor and in a pathetic condition. The ers would like to pay as measure of building relations, as the postman gives advice and provides information. This will also help in the timely delivery of. If we pay he gives the money on the exact date and informs us on time. Patiently he will explain and obtain the signature. 84

85 Some postmen feel that what have been obtaining is fee for rendering this service. They scold the ers, never respond properly and act indifferently. Level of security among ers: The table gives the perceptions of the ers on the level of security they have felt ever since they started obtaining. A majority of the ers (59 %) opined that they felt more secure now. Even though there has been some delay in the distribution of, the ers felt that their dependency on others for day to day needs has come down. On the other hand, about 36 % informed that they felt the same as before receiving any, mostly those households who are economically better off when compared to the rest of the ers. In fact, 5 % of the members continue to feel insecure mostly the PHP households as they need to incur more cost on health care and hence are under psychological pressure. Table 4.32: Perceptions of Pensioners (%) on the level of security after they started to receive the Level of security Old age Widow Disability More secure Same as before Not feeling secure No information Work status before and after receiving the : As will be seen from the table, wage labour in agriculture forms the predominant group with nearly three-fifth representation in the sample, followed by those engaged as wage labourers in non-agriculture (21 per cent). The analysis further reveals that one out of every six ers covered did not report any occupation as they are either children or destitute or physically handicapped. Incidence of this group is highest in the PHP group (36 per cent). Excepting for this variation, nearly threefourths of the sample covered in the OAP and DWP groups report to have participated earlier as wage labour in agriculture and non-agriculture. 85

86 Table 4.33: Distribution of Pensioners by their Previous Occupation (%) Working status before obtaining the s Old age Widow Disability Wage labour in agriculture Wage labour in non-agriculture Cultivator Nothing Others But there exists a slight variation in the distributional pattern of occupation of the ers. At the aggregate level, occupational diversification is discernible from wage (previous occupation) to non-wage occupations. Interestingly, slightly over one third are not fit for engaging in any gainful activity as they are children or on account of their handicap. Participation as wage labour still continues to be predominant among OAP and DWP groups, but in the case of PHP, the incidence of out of labour force (OLF) has swollen from 36 to 50 per cent. Table 4.34: Distribution of Pensioners (%) by their current occupation Old age Widow Disability Current Working status Wage labourer in agriculture Wage labourer in non-agriculture Self-employed in agriculture Self-employed in small manufacturing/ hotel/ transport/personal services Salaried employee Household work Unemployed Student Cannot work Too young to go to school

87 Ineligible ers: It is important to examine whether there are any ineligible beneficiaries among those receiving s in terms of age, marital status, extent of disability, and annual income as per the eligibility norms. In the case of the old age ers, a close look at the distribution by age group and the year of obtaining indicates that 34 % were less than 65 years of age. There are 7.9 % of the ers with APL card, implying that they may not fulfil the eligibility criteria. Though four of the sample members reported to be salaried employees, three are working in private companies. However, one member reported to be working as a typist in a government office. One needs to be cautious, as this person may be engaged in part time employment. 90 % of the households covered for the study have earning members, the number varies from one to 10 earning members. Even going by per capita income, given the eligibility criteria at least 23 % of the ers are ineligible members. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS In Gulbarga district, there has been a dip in the number of s given in 2008, which is higher for OAP (23 %) followed by PHP (8 %) and DWP (0.59 %). This was largely due to the cancellation of s around September 2007 to curb bogus cases. Despite a decline in the number of s in the district, there has been a sharp rise (411%) in the expenditure incurred on schemes as amount was increased. The major constraint faced by the post offices was delay due to the different processes involved (e.g., indenting, arranging money for distribution etc.). Each post office is entitled to Rs.10,000 per day. The amount has been enhanced to Rs.20,000 per day. In the case of unclaimed MOs, the amount has to be sent back to the Treasury. Generally, the post office is supposed to furnish information once in three months to the Treasury. It appears that the entire process of returning the un-delivered amount takes about three months. Despite pressure from Treasury, the post office is submitting information only once in six months. 87

88 The role of the Tahsildar ends with the issue sanction orders to the Treasury. After sanctioning, she/he is expected to monitor the same through the RI/VA once in a year. Each will have to cover 500 ers, as she/he needs to enquire, monitor sanctioned cases, keep records and report from time to time. The workload is much higher in urban localities. Though there was an increase in PHP, it could not be implemented, as there was no application from the ers for enhancement 3. There is no awareness among ers regarding this process. For three head accountants, is one of their responsibilities. Each Head Accountant needs to look into 300 books (each containing 100 applications)- 50 % workload now. Previously MOs used to be released once in four months. However, due to shortage to MOs, manual preparation of lists, etc., now MOs are delivered every month or once in two months. Computerization has really helped in streamlining the process. One printer is used for 7 departments. So it is difficult to get two days for printing of MOs. In a sample of 353 ers, the group receiving old age s accounts for the largest. One out of every six ers covered in the sample are those who receive disability. The distribution of ers by caste category reveals that 79 % of the sample members belong to weaker sections of the society in terms of social status. Further analysis shows that SC households were predominant group in the case of old age and widow, while it is minorities for disability. There are 8% of the ers with APL card, who are not eligible to get schemes. The analysis in this regard reveals that females constitute three-fourths in the sample and across the type of s, this trend is by large reflected in But in the disability group, males out-number their female counterparts by about 20 per cent. At the aggregate level, ers above 60 years constitute 46 per cent, distantly followed by those in the age group of 50 to 60 years (22 per cent). In so far as the age group of OAP ers is concerned, about one third of them belong to the age group of years while the rest ( of this group) are above 60 years. This calls for 3 It was learnt that a certificate from a civil surgeon is required for sanction of where the disability ranges between 40% and 74%. In case the disability is 75% and above, a certificate from the district medical board is insisted upon for sanction of. 88

89 further verification as the infiltration ratio of ineligible persons - les than 60 years- is of larger magnitude. The literacy level is abysmally low (about 10 per cent) in the overall sample and this trend more or less gets reflected across the groups of OAP and DWP. In the disability group, though illiterates are a majority, their number is confined to only about threefifths. It is evident from the table that about one-tenth of the households covered for the study did not have any earning members and among the rest, the number varies from one to 10 earning members. There are 23 % of ers who have per capita income more than Rs.600. Given the current income criteria, only 76.7 % of the members are eligible members. Even going by annual per capita income of the ers (table 4.19), about 29 % of them are non-eligible members. There were 25 % households where more than one member is getting. Only 1.6 % of disability ers reported that in the past they used receive in different location. The discussion in the field revealed that some members continue to receive in old location with the help of neighbours even after moving out of the place. About 80 % of the ers were receiving at their doorstep. The ers were also reporting that they were going and waiting regularly at post office, even in urban locations. The postman generally leaves a message with neighbours, if the er is not available at the time of his visit. In such case, the ers will have to go and collect the from the post office within 15 days. It also emerged from the field that in exceptional cases (e.g., handicapped persons and old aged) the amount may be delivered to family members, relatives and neighbours on authorisation. Very few instances of delivering the to middlemen came to light if a er is not living in a village. It was felt by the ers that the situation has considerably improved in the last six months, as the s were delivered at least once in two month from June 2008 on words. As per the information provided by the ers, the delay ranged from 4 days to 70 89

90 days with an average of about 30 days. As will be seen from the table on this parameter, in about 43 per cent of the cases studied, the delay is more than one month. This being the scenario at the ground level, an urgent action is required to set right the things. To a question whether any payment is made to anybody at the time of receiving the last, about 68% of the ers informed that they made payment to the postman whenever the is received. The amount paid to postman varied between Rs.5 to Rs.50. In 38 % of the cases it was demanded by the postman. While a majority of ers reported that the behaviour of the person was polite/ cordial. Other reported the behaviour as indifferent or arrogant/rough. A majority of the ers (59 %) opined that they felt more secure now. In fact, 5 % of the members were continue to feel insecure mostly by the PHP households as they need to incur more cost on health care and under psychological pressure.. Though four of the sample members reported to be salaried employees, three are working in private companies. However, one member reported to be working as typist in government office. One needs to be cautious, as this person may be engaged in part time employment. For 90 % of the households covered for the study have any earning members, the number varies from one to 10 earning members. Even going by per capita income, given the eligibility criteria at least 23 % of the ers are ineligible members. 90

91 5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS INTRODUCTION Over 90 per cent of about 19 lakh s given to the elderly, widows and physically challenged in Karnataka are being disbursed through money orders from the Postal Department. This delivery mechanism, though costs Rs. 40 crores to the exchequer, ensured that the s are delivered at the door step of the ers and reduced the hardship to the ers on account of virtually no travel involved to receive the s. The present delivery mechanism has been perceived to be inefficient due high transaction costs to the Revenue Department on account of Rs. 40 crores of commission paid to the Postal Department, stationery, etc., to print money orders. In addition, there have been delays on the part of treasury office and postal department on account of a number of factors. The shortage of human resources has resulted in inability to find and weed out ineligible beneficiaries. The beneficiaries have also been experiencing problems in the form of delays in receiving the amounts and unauthorised payments to delivery agents and middlemen. In order to address the above, the Karnataka government has initiated measures towards the timely delivery of s and removing inefficiencies that have crept into the system. It has decided to undertake a pilot project to disburse the s with the help of the existing banking network. Since the banking network is not as wide as postal network and hence there may be limitations in reaching out to the remote and far off villages, banks would use business correspondents, who will deliver at door steps. Against this background, the Revenue Department has requested the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, to undertake a baseline survey on the delivery mechanisms and failure to provide benchmark data for Bellary, Chitradurga and Gulbarga districts (where the new strategy will be tried out) on a number of variables that reflect the status of current delivery mechanisms in relation to old age s, widow s and disability s. This information would be useful to gauze the progress in the delivery mechanisms made under the new system of smart cards. 91

92 OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY The objectives of the study are to (1) to carry out baseline survey on current mechanisms to deliver social security and benefits; (2) to identify the delivery failures in the implementation of social security and programmes; and (3) to prepare a report on the delivery mechanisms and failures in the delivery of social security and benefits, and also provide observations on the impact of schemes on beneficiaries. The study has been conducted in three districts in Karnataka, viz., Bellary, Chitradurga and Gulbarga. Multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to select taluks, villages and households in each district. The total sample size was 1,076 ers (361 in Bellary, 362 in Chitradurga and 353 in Gulbarga) representing old age ers, widow ers and physically handicapped ers. A structured questionnaire was canvassed among these ers during the middle of December 2008 to the middle of January Village and ward level interviews were also held with the key informants to elicit their views and to assess the overall performance of the delivery system. Besides, secondary data/ information was collected from the Tehsildar office, Sub-treasury office and the Taluk post office to understand the progress of the schemes and operation of the delivery system. KEY FINDINGS The results of the study have been presented in Chapters 2 to 4 of this report. Each of these chapters provided detailed findings on the delivery of social security and benefits in Bellary, Chitradurga and Gulbarga districts. In the ensuing paragraphs, we will summarise the overall finding for the districts. Growth in schemes The growth in the schemes across the districts shows that there was a rapid growth in the number of ers and expenditure on the provision of benefits in all the districts expect Gulbarga. The reasons for such growth are the following. First, there was a change in the eligibility criteria for OAP. Initially, s for the elderly were restricted to the destitute; but this criterion was relaxed. This resulted in several people applying for the s. Secondly, the increase in the amount to Rs. 400 motivated several people to apply for the scheme. This also resulted in a sharp increase in the expenditure. Third, 92

93 during , the state government introduced a new scheme called Sandhya Suraksha Yojana (SSY) for the benefit of old age ers, and undertook enrolment drives. The decline in the growth of ers in Gulbarga was on account of decision by the local administration to discontinue the s to find and weed out ineligible ers through an enquiry. In the enquiry, only those who attended the enquiry camp or applied were covered. As a result, the number of s has come down. On the whole, there has been a spurt in the demand for s during the last decade as indicated by the faster growth in the number of ers mainly due to increase in the monthly amount, relaxation in the eligibility criteria and the proactive role of the government. Recently, there has been an increase in the amount to Rs. 1,000 in the case of those having more than 75 per cent of disability. In none of the districts, has this come into effect as there were no applications from the ers for enhancement of amount. This has been attributed to the lack of awareness among ers on the correct procedure. Delivery mechanism at the district level The applications for sanction of s are submitted to the Tehsildar. The Revenue Inspector (RI) with the help of the Village Accountant scrutinises the applications, including the physical verification of the applicants in accordance with the eligibility criteria. Based on the report of the RI, the Shirastadar sends in the papers to the Tehsildar for sanction. Upon sanction of, the order copy is sent to the applicant and the Sub-treasury Officer (STO). The STO gets the data entered into the computer, and releases the amount. The existing arrangements to distribute the amount consist of two methods, viz., 1) through post offices and 2) through banks. The STO releases the amount through cheques to the Post Master, Taluk Post Office and to the concerned banks. Most of the s are being distributed through the post offices. The STO sends the cheques for every 100 Money Orders (MOs) to the Taluk Head Post Office. But, in the case of Bellary taluk, cheques have been sent for every 500 MOs. From the taluk post office, the amount is sent to the sub-post offices for booking of MOs. The process of booking the MOs at the subpost offices takes about a week s time. From the sub-post offices, the MOs will be sent to the branch post offices. At the branch post office level, the postmaster has to make indents to 93

94 sub-post office, obtain the amount, and arrange for the distribution of money to the ers through the postman. Delay at the district level The discussions with the officials of the Revenue Department, Treasury and Postal Department have revealed that the time taken for the release of from the treasury to the beneficiary ranges between 30 days to two months. This has been on account of shortage of human resources in the treasury office, limited infrastructure (for instance, one printer is shared by several departments in Gulbarga and consequently, the printing of money orders is delayed), power cuts, etc. Computerisation of addresses has reduced the time taken to print money orders. Even then, the delays have been noticed. Procedural problems such as a postman can carry only Rs. 10,000 in a day due to security reasons have also contributed to the delay. As a result, in Gulbarga, this has been relaxed, and now, the postman can carry Rs. 20,000 in a day. Because of the above problems, the treasury offices across the districts have started to adopt the practice of releasing amounts once in two months. Thus, technically speaking, the practice is no longer monthly s; it is by and large bimonthly s now. Profile of Pensioner Households The profile of the sample households has been analysed in terms of religion and caste background, housing status, access to PDS, and composition of the household members by gender, age group, educational status and occupational status. Such an analysis has been done to understand the socio-economic background of households benefiting under the social security benefit schemes. The profile of the sample households indicates that the households obtaining physically handicapped s appeared to be better placed when compared to those obtaining widow s and old age s in terms of percentage of households living in pucca/ RCC houses, possessing APL ration card and containing a higher proportion of members in the economically productive age group. Profile of Pensioners The profile of the sample ers is examined here in terms of their personal characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, education and working status. Most of the 94

95 ers were females, widowed, and belonged to the category of non-productive age group and non-workers. There were, however, a few workers among the ers, more so among the widowed when compared to other two categories. Most of them were engaged in the unorganised sector, undertaking wage employment in agriculture or self-employment in the non-agricultural sector. As such, it appears that most of the ers are in a disadvantageous position in terms of demographic, physical and economic status. The targeting of the social security and benefits appears to be in the right direction, as indicated by the large-scale coverage of weaker sections including women. Year of Pension Sanction Most of the s were sanctioned after the year 2000 across the districts. Between 14 and 25 per cent of the ers have reported that more than one person from their household has been receiving. A majority of the ers were non-workers at the time of sanction of, more so among the PHP and OAP when compared to the DWP. A vast majority of the ers possessed the sanction letter of, thus implying the less prevalence of fraudulent practices in the sanction of s. Delivery Arrangement Between 80 and 90 per cent of the ers across the districts receive the at their doorstep through the postman. The proportion of ers not receiving the at the door step was higher in Gulbarga as they reported to be going and waiting at the post office even in urban locations. The ers manage to get the in case they are absent when the postman visits their house by informing the postman or collecting the from the post office. Very few cases of s being delivered to the middle men came to the light. Delays in the receipt of amounts The delay in the delivery of is of the order of days from the stipulated date in most cases, mostly due to the practice of releasing it once in two months from the treasury and the condition that the postman cannot carry more than Rs per day. Although the timeliness in the delivery of has been reported to have improved over time, there is urgent need to improve the timeliness in the delivery of s. It must be noted that though ers have confidence that the s will be delivered, the delay has been forcing them to borrow and render them more vulnerable. 95

96 Unauthorised payments About 80 per cent of the ers make unauthorised payments to the postman, ranging from 2% to 6% of the amount. While about half of them are paid to the postman voluntarily, the postman demands the money in the sense that he deducts the amount before paying the in the case of the rest. However, the behaviour of the delivery agent has been stated to be cordial in most cases. Beneficial impact of s There has been an upward mobility in the work status of disabled and widows after they started to obtain from wage labour to self-employment in the non-farm sector; this could be attributed to education facilitated by in the case of PHP and leisure time facilitated by in the case of DWP, besides certain compulsions to look after the education, consumption needs of children and to perform the marriage of daughters. Pension gives the ers a sense of security as indicated by the high level of security among them in the sense that most of them feel more secure now than before; one important reason for this is the increase in the monthly amount. Ineligible beneficiaries There are virtually no cases of ineligible ers on account of death of er, remarriage and overstated disability. Apparently there seem to be a few cases of ineligible ers on account of age, but the ineligibility on the ground of age becomes untenable, as there is no authenticated evidence of the date of birth in the case of OAP. If the household income is taken into account, as per the present eligibility criteria of Rs.6000 per annum for sanction of widow and disability, many households become ineligible. But, in the present context, fixing a maximum income of Rs.6000 per annum as eligibility for sanction of appears to be unrealistic because of two important factors, viz., the implementation of NREGP which guarantees a minimum of 100 days of employment per annum and the minimum wage of Rs.74 per day in Karnataka according to the Minimum Wages Act. Therefore, it is unlikely that the annual income of a household would be less than Rs.6000 even if there is one worker in the household. It is learnt that the government has 96

97 been contemplating an upward revision of the income criteria for sanctioning widow and disability s. Secondly, other factors need to be taken into account before taking household income as the criteria for ineligibility of ers. For instance, in the case of DWP, the er lives in a different family that of a father, brother or sister or in-laws mainly for the sake of security and moral support. Similarly, in the case of OAP, the er sometimes lives with the family of his/her brother, sister, daughter or cousins and not with his/her own sons. Even in the case of PHP, a few ers reside with the guardians. In all such cases, the er may not have access to or any say over the household income. Therefore, it may not be correct to take the income of the household as that of the er. Another justification for this is that the income earned by individual workers is not shared by all household members in all matters. Lastly, household income cannot be viewed in isolation. The indebtedness of the household, the source and purpose of debt will have a bearing on household income. If the household incurs a debt from a private source for health or consumption purpose or even for investment on agriculture, there may be no returns or the rate of return is uncertain, which would make it difficult for the household to repay it. The expenditure pattern, especially on medical expenses or education or liquor/gambling, should also be taken into account to judge whether the income puts the household on a sound footing in economic terms. In view of the above, it would be difficult to come to a definite conclusion on ineligible ers on account of income. There could be a few ineligible ers if we take into account the households with more than three workers and the household income as a whole. But, these criteria cannot be considered in isolation from other factors such as indebtedness, purpose and source of debt of the household, expenditure pattern of the household and the pattern of income-sharing arrangement within the household, which require an in-depth study. It appears that the small proportion of potential ineligible ers and the meagre allocations for social security benefits in the state does not warrant such a study. The above conclusions have certain policy implications. Firstly, it is necessary to focus attention on the process of delivery of s through post offices. The decision of the state government to make it a condition that the all the ers should open a SB account in 97

98 banks or post offices is a welcome feature. Once this is done, the payments can be made through cheques from the treasury to banks or post offices and money can be directly credited to the accounts of the ers. Further, the delay in the delivery of s could be avoided and the unauthorised payments being made to the postman at present can be stopped. Secondly, the process of release of the amount from the STO needs to be expedited. Thirdly, computerisation of data at the sub-treasury office needs to be expedited so as to avoid initial delay in the delivery of s to the new ers. Fourthly, the introduction of the smart card system needs to be given urgent attention as the ers in Bellary taluk have not received for the last three months. Lastly, the policy regarding the income criteria for the sanction of needs to be revised upwards without any delay so that the deserving potential beneficiaries could be brought under the purview of. 98