Small man scales tall order, gets pension

For the last eighteen months, Sajid Ali has been running around to get himself added to the list of beneficiaries under the state-funded social welfare schemes. The 32-year-old who suffers from a congenital stunted growth and is a midget, is currently unemployed.

“I was looking to receive pension from the government, but they told me I didn’t fit in, in any of the schemes,” he said.

On Tuesday, however, he was not only added to the list of beneficiaries under the social welfare scheme for the disabled in state, but also got insured under the Vasundhara Raje government’s flagship scheme Bhamashah health insurance. “Sajid Ali is now entitled to free foodgrain under the food security programme,” an official of the district administration said.

Ali got a helping hand after the state government adopted the amended guidelines for disbursing pension. Under the new guidelines When he arrived at the office of the Sub-divisional magistrate Ashish Verma at the district collectorate, he was surprised at how quickly his application was accepted and processed in a matter of minutes.

“Under the revised guidelines, the Centre has included dwarfs or people with restricted growth as disabled making them eligible for social welfare schemes,” Verma said. The state government now accepts applications for social welfare schemes from individuals whose height is less than 4 feet and 10 inches.

Ali said he was running around the offices of municipal corporation and the district administration. “I have been denied jobs at several places,” he added. He is ecstatic as he gets an insurance cover of up to Rs3 lakh and a monthly pension of Rs750 besides free foodgrain.