Chandrababu Naidu Writes Open Letter To Pensioners

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday wrote an open letter to the pensioners of the State.

"The first duty of my government is to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the people. The immediate task was to fulfill your hopes and aspirations. As stated in the manifesto before the elections, the existing pension has been increased by Rs 1,000. From now on, we will give a pension of Rs 4,000," he said.

He added that the pension for differently-abled persons had been increased to Rs 6,000 per month.

"From July 1 onwards, 65,18,496 pensioners belonging to 28 communities will be given the increased pension at their own homes. There are many economic issues before the new government. Despite that, on the very first day of the formation of the government, we have taken decisions that are good for the welfare of the people. The hike in pensions will result in an additional burden of Rs 819 crore per month on the government. But this decision has still been implemented immediately for the benefit of the people," he said.

"Prior to the elections, the ruling party of the day made you very upset about by not paying pensions in time for its perverse politics. I was shocked to see the difficulties you had to face in getting your pensions for those three months. I saw how some of you passed out due to the heat. That is why we promised to implement the pension hike from April onwards. The hike is also applicable for the months of April, May and June. Thus, a total of Rs 7,000 per pensioner will be brought to their homes on July 1, including Rs 3,000 for three months and Rs 4,000 for the month of July," he said.

Naidu said that the government had named the pension programme after the late NTR, the king of welfare and the pioneer of the social pension system. He urged the people to bless the "people's government, which always looked to do good".