Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme - Chhattisgarh

What is the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme in Chhattisgarh?

Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme is a centrally sponsored social security pension implemented in Chhattisgarh by the Social Welfare Department, Government of Chhattisgarh. The scheme gives a monthly pension of Rs 500 to persons living Below the Poverty Line who are aged 18 to 79 years and who have either a severe disability of 80 per cent or above or multiple disabilities.

According to the Chhattisgarh Social Welfare Department, the Rs 500 is split into a Rs 300 central contribution and a Rs 200 state contribution. The purpose is to give a person whose disability limits earning capacity a small independent income that does not depend on a family member's willingness to share.

Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme sits alongside the old-age pension and the widow pension in the same family of Social Welfare Department pensions. All three share the BPL requirement, the same two application routes, and the same rule that a person may draw only one government pension at a time.

Key features

• Rs 500 per month, credited to a bank or post office account.
• Applies to severe disability of 80 per cent or more, and to multiple disabilities.
• Age band of 18 to 79 years.
• Restricted to persons on the Below Poverty Line list of Chhattisgarh.
• Centrally sponsored, with Rs 300 central and Rs 200 state share.
• Application is possible online and offline, and the form is free.

Who is eligible for the disability pension in Chhattisgarh?

You can claim the pension if all of these are true:

• You are a native of Chhattisgarh.
• You have a severe disability, meaning any one type of disability recorded at 80 per cent or above, or you are a person with multiple disabilities, meaning more than one type of disability.
• Your age is between 18 and 79 years.
• Your name is included in the list of families living Below the Poverty Line.
• You are not receiving pension benefits from any other Central or State Government pension scheme.
• You hold a disability certificate issued under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.

You cannot apply, or will be found not eligible, if:

• Your disability is below 80 per cent and is a single type of disability. The threshold is strict, and a certificate showing 60 or 70 per cent for one condition alone does not qualify.
• You are under 18 or 80 years or older. Beneficiaries who cross 79 are meant to be moved to the old-age pension route rather than simply dropped.
• Your household is not on the BPL list. This is the most common ground for rejection.
• You already draw another Central or State Government pension.
• You are not a native of Chhattisgarh.
• You have no valid disability certificate. A hospital discharge summary or a doctor's opinion letter is not a substitute for the statutory certificate.

How to apply for the disability pension online

1. Open the eDistrict Chhattisgarh portal at edistrict.cgstate.gov.in and click Citizen Login.
2. If you are a new user, select New Registration, enter your registration details and click Submit. The registration summary appears on screen and the password is sent to your registered mobile number.
3. Return to the portal, click Login or Citizen Login, and sign in with your username and password.
4. After logging in, open My Service and search for the Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme.
5. Click Apply Online, fill in every required field, and upload the scanned documents: disability certificate, BPL card, age proof, domicile certificate, Aadhaar and bank passbook.
6. Click Submit, then save the application reference number displayed. Use it to track the file later.

How to apply for the disability pension offline

1. Visit the Gram Panchayat office if you live in a village, or the Municipal Corporation, Municipality or Nagar Panchayat if you live in a town, and collect the application form free of cost.
2. Fill in the form and attach the disability certificate, BPL card, age proof, domicile certificate issued by a Gazetted Officer, Sarpanch or Councillor, Aadhaar card, bank passbook and a passport-size photograph.
3. Submit the form at that office and collect the acknowledgement receipt.
4. In rural areas the Gram Panchayat reviews the application and forwards it to the District Panchayat within seven days. In urban areas the local body itself has the power to approve or reject.

If a printed form is not in stock, the Social Welfare Department permits the application to be submitted on plain paper with the same enclosures.

What documents are required?

The disability certificate does the heaviest work in this file, and it is worth checking two things on it before applying: that the percentage figure is printed clearly, and that where the applicant has more than one condition, all of them are listed on the certificate. A person with two conditions of 50 per cent each qualifies on the multiple-disability ground, but only if both appear on the certificate.

How much pension is paid and how does it arrive?

The pension is Rs 500 per month; Rs 300 from the Government of India and Rs 200 from the Government of Chhattisgarh. Payment is monthly, into the bank account or post office account entered on the application.

Once sanctioned, the pension continues without an annual re-application. What stops it in practice is a dormant bank account, a name mismatch between Aadhaar and the bank record, or a disability certificate that has expired where the original was issued for a limited period. Certificates issued as temporary or review-dated should be renewed before the review date passes.

How do I check my application or payment status?

1. For an online application, log back into edistrict.cgstate.gov.in with your citizen credentials and track the file using the reference number from submission.
2. For an offline rural application, ask the Gram Panchayat secretary whether the file has gone to the District Panchayat, which should happen within seven days.
3. For an offline urban application, follow up with the Municipal Corporation, Municipality or Nagar Panchayat that received it, since that body decides the case.
4. After sanction, check the passbook or take a mini statement each month to confirm the credit.

Common reasons a disability pension application is rejected

• Disability percentage below 80 and only one condition recorded. The most frequent technical rejection. Where the applicant genuinely has more than one condition, get all of them added to the certificate and re-apply.
• Disability certificate not issued under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. Certificates from unauthorised issuers are not accepted.
• Name not on the BPL list. This has to be fixed in the BPL record before the pension claim can succeed.
• Age outside 18 to 79. Submit a stronger age proof if the recorded age is wrong.
• Another government pension already drawn. A second social security pension found later is liable to be cancelled.
• Bank account details wrong or dormant. Verify the account number and IFSC on the form against the passbook before submitting.

Key dates and timelines

• The scheme is open all year; no annual last date is announced.
• Rural applications must reach the District Panchayat within seven days of submission at the Gram Panchayat.
• 18 is the entry age and 80 the exit age. Start the move to the old-age pension route before the 80th birthday, not after payments stop.

Grievance redressal and help

• First step. The Gram Panchayat secretary, or the ward office of your Municipal Corporation, Municipality or Nagar Panchayat.
• Second step — the District Panchayat or the District Social Welfare Officer, who supervises Social Welfare Department pensions in the district.
• Online: grievances on an eDistrict application can be raised through the same citizen login at edistrict.cgstate.gov.in.
• Department level. The Social Welfare Department, Government of Chhattisgarh, at sw.cg.gov.in, which publishes the pension scheme guidelines and periodic notifications that district offices apply.

The application form and eDistrict registration are both free. No official or agent may charge a person with a disability for filing, forwarding or sanctioning an Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme application.