Shimla, February 25 Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday directed officials not to stop the social security pension of any eligible individuals, according to a statement.
Presiding over a meeting of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department here, he said that all eligible beneficiaries would continue to receive their pensions and asked the department to complete all codal formalities for the remaining eligible social security pensioners to ensure that no deserving beneficiary was deprived of their rights.
In a statement issued here, he said that e-KYC of 7,60,772 beneficiaries has been completed so far and emphasised that all eligible individuals must be covered without exception.
Sukhu also reviewed the Mukhya Mantri Sukh Aashray Yojna and said that 4,131 children in the state are currently receiving benefits under the scheme. He added that the state government has allocated Rs 30.69 crore to ensure its effective implementation.
He also issued instructions to conduct exposure and recreational visits for such children regularly and sought reports from districts that have not yet conducted any such tours.
The chief minister said that the state government has made a provision to utilise 10 per cent of the Local Area Development Fund for the welfare of orphan children.
Sukhu also directed the Finance Department to clear all pending bills of contractors up to Rs 20 lakh pertaining to various departments, including the Public Works Department and the Jal Shakti Vibhag.
A spokesperson of the Finance Department in a statement issued here said that outstanding payments amounting to approximately Rs 225 crore will be released shortly to various contractors.