Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Scheme for Poor Families - 2012, Puducherry

What is the Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Scheme for Poor Families - 2012?

Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Scheme for Poor Families - 2012 is a social insurance scheme run by the Department of Revenue and Disaster Management, Union Territory of Puducherry. According to the department's own scheme page, its object is to provide financial assistance to all Below Poverty Line family members in the union territory in the age group of 18 to 60 years, in the event of natural death, unnatural death, partial total disability or permanent total disability due to accidents. The scheme came into force with effect from 25 March 2011.

Unlike a pension, this is an event-triggered one-time payment. Nothing is paid while the member is alive and uninjured. The family becomes entitled only when the covered event happens, and the claim is filed by the survivors or by the disabled member.

The scheme uses two definitions that decide the amount:

• "Member" means all persons in the age group of 18 to 60 years in a Below Poverty Line family whose annual family income is not more than Rs 75,000.
• "Partial total disability" means a disability of less than 40 per cent; "permanent total disability" means a disability of more than 40 per cent.

The scheme is administered on the ground through the revenue machinery: Taluk and Sub-Taluk offices receive claims, a Settlement Officer in the rank of Deputy Collector (Revenue) sanctions them, and the District Collector hears appeals. In Karaikal and in the Puducherry district, sanction orders are published periodically; one such order released Rs 98.85 lakh to 292 beneficiaries, and another Rs 84.30 lakh to 269 beneficiaries, which gives a sense of the scale at which the scheme actually operates.

How much does the scheme pay?

Payment is made by e-payment into a bank account maintained by the beneficiary in any nationalised bank in the Union Territory of Puducherry. There is no cash disbursement, and an account in a bank outside the union territory can hold up the sanction.

Who is eligible for the Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Scheme?

A claim can be made if:

• The deceased or disabled person was a member of a Below Poverty Line family in the Union Territory of Puducherry.
• The member was aged between 18 and 60 years at the time of the event.
• The family's annual income does not exceed Rs 75,000.
• The claimant is a permanent resident of the Union Territory of Puducherry.
• The event is a natural death, an unnatural death, or a disability caused by an accident.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• The member was under 18 or over 60 at the time of death or accident.
• The annual family income exceeds Rs 75,000, or the family is not classifiable as Below Poverty Line.
• The family has already availed a benefit for the same event under another scheme of the Government of India, the Government of Puducherry or a local body of the Puducherry government. The scheme text is explicit that a beneficiary here is not eligible for such a double claim, then or in future.
• The claim is filed more than 180 days after the event and the Collector has not condoned the delay.
• The disability is not the result of an accident, a congenital or disease-related disability is dealt with by the Social Welfare Department's differently abled schemes, not by this one.

A separate warning applies to everyone: where assistance has been sanctioned on false or wrong information supplied by the beneficiary, a member of the family or any government official, the entire amount is recoverable under the Pondicherry Revenue Recovery Act, and the person who gave the false information is liable to prosecution.

What documents are required?

Claim forms are supplied free of cost at all Taluk and Sub-Taluk offices, and can also be downloaded from the Puducherry district website.

How to apply for the Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Scheme

1. Collect the right form. Obtain Form-A (natural or unnatural death) or Form-B (partial or permanent total disability due to accident) free of cost from your Taluk or Sub-Taluk Office, or download it from the district website.
2. Fill in the claim with the member's details, the date and nature of the event, the family's BPL particulars and the bank account of the claimant in a nationalised bank within the union territory.
3. Attach the supporting papers, death certificate or disability certificate, FIR or post-mortem report where the death was unnatural, BPL card or income certificate, ration card or Aadhaar, and age proof.
4. Submit the completed claim to the Tahsildar or Deputy Tahsildar of the Taluk or Sub-Taluk Office within whose jurisdiction the member fell, within 180 days from the date of death or the date of the accident.
5. Collect the acknowledgement and note the date of submission.
6. Wait for scrutiny. The Taluk or Sub-Taluk Office scrutinises the claim and forwards it to the Settlement Officer, who is the Deputy Collector (Revenue).
7. Sanction. On being satisfied of eligibility, the Settlement Officer sanctions assistance in Form-C for death claims and Form-D for disability claims, and the money is released by e-payment into the beneficiary's nationalised bank account.

What happens after you file the claim

The claim moves along a fixed route: Taluk or Sub-Taluk Office → Settlement Officer (Deputy Collector, Revenue) → sanction order → e-payment. Sanction orders are issued in batches and published on the district portals, so it is worth checking the Puducherry district or Karaikal district website for the document category "Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Schemes", where lists of sanctioned beneficiaries and amounts are uploaded.

If a claim is rejected, an appeal lies to the District Collector within 30 days of the Settlement Officer's decision. That appeal window is short, so a family that receives a rejection should act at once rather than filing a fresh claim.

Why claims get rejected, and how to fix them

• Filed beyond 180 days. This is the most frequent failure. A delayed claim survives only if the Collector condones the delay and recommends the case as genuine, so attach a written explanation with evidence for the delay.
• Age outside 18-60. Verify the date of birth on the ration card and the death certificate before filing.
• Income above Rs 75,000 on the income certificate, or a ration card that no longer reflects BPL status.
• Unnatural death claimed without an FIR or post-mortem report. The higher Rs 75,000 rate depends on establishing that the death was unnatural.
• Disability percentage not certified, so the office cannot decide between Rs 37,500 and Rs 75,000.
• Bank account outside the union territory or not in a nationalised bank, which blocks the e-payment route the scheme prescribes.
• A parallel claim already sanctioned for the same event under another government scheme.

Key dates to remember

• 25 March 2011. The date from which the scheme came into force.
• 180 days — the outer limit for filing a claim from the date of death or accident.
• 30 days. The period within which an appeal must be filed with the District Collector against a Settlement Officer's decision.

There is no application season. The scheme is open through the year because it responds to events, not to a calendar.

Where to go for help

• Your Taluk or Sub-Taluk Office, the first point of contact, where forms are issued free and claims are received.
• The Settlement Officer, Deputy Collector (Revenue), for the status of a claim already forwarded.
• The District Collector, for appeals within 30 days, and for condonation of delay beyond 180 days.
• Department of Revenue and Disaster Management at revenue.py.gov.in for the scheme text.
• CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in for an escalated grievance.

No fee is payable for the claim form or for filing the claim, and no middleman is needed. The assistance is credited only to the claimant's own bank account.

How to check your application status

There is no online tracking portal for this scheme, so status checking is done directly with the office that holds your file, not through a website login or an SMS system.

1. Keep your acknowledgement number ready. When the Taluk or Sub-Taluk Office received your Form-A or Form-B claim, it should have issued a receipt or an entry number in the claim register. Quote this number in every follow-up, it is the only reference the office uses to locate a pending file.
2. Visit or call the Taluk or Sub-Taluk Office first. Since the claim is filed and scrutinised there before it moves on, this office can tell you whether the file has already been forwarded to the Settlement Officer or is still awaiting a document or verification.
3. If the file has moved on, check with the Settlement Officer's office, the Deputy Collector (Revenue) for your Taluk, since sanction is decided at that level. Ask specifically whether the claim is pending, sanctioned or returned for a correction.
4. Watch the published sanction lists. The Puducherry district and Karaikal district websites periodically upload lists of beneficiaries sanctioned under the Rajiv Gandhi Social Security Scheme, along with the amount released. If your name or your family member's name appears on a recent list, the claim has been sanctioned and payment should follow by e-payment into the bank account you gave.
5. Check your bank account for the credit once a sanction list has been published. Since disbursal is only by e-payment, a credit is the surest confirmation that a claim has cleared.
6. If there is no movement for several weeks after submission, put your query in writing to the Tahsildar quoting the acknowledgement number, and ask for the current stage of the file. A written request creates a record you can point to if you later need to raise a grievance.
7. If the office gives no clear answer, escalate through CPGRAMS (pgportal.gov.in) or write to the Department of Revenue and Disaster Management, Union Territory of Puducherry, describing the claim, the date of filing and the acknowledgement number.

There is no dedicated helpline number published for this scheme, so the Taluk office where the claim was filed remains the fastest point of contact for a status update.