Financial Assistance to Acid Attack Victims (Punjab)

What is Financial Assistance to Acid Attack Victims in Punjab?

Financial Assistance to Acid Attack Victims is a Punjab state scheme established in 2017 that pays a monthly amount to a woman who has been disabled by an acid attack. According to the Department of Social Security and Women & Child Development, "the Financial Assistance of Rs. 8,000/- per month is given to rehabilitate the victims of acid attack and make them self-reliant."

The scheme is fully state-sponsored. Its eligibility turns on a single medical fact: the department records the scheme as covering females with 40 per cent disability resulting from an acid attack.

The reasoning behind a recurring monthly payment rather than a one-time grant is specific to this injury. An acid attack survivor typically faces years of reconstructive surgery, permanent loss of vision or hand function, and a near complete loss of employability in the work she did before. A lump sum is consumed by the first phase of treatment. A monthly Rs 8,000 is intended to be the floor under her household budget while the medical and legal processes run their course, and while she attempts to re-enter work.

Key features

• Rs 8,000 per month, which is Rs 96,000 over a year, substantially higher than any other monthly disability payment Punjab runs.
• Fully state-funded, with no central share.
• Started in 2017.
• Applied for and sanctioned at the district level.
• Separate from, and additional to, court-ordered compensation or payments under the victim compensation scheme.

Who is eligible for the acid attack assistance?

A person is eligible if:

• She is a female.
• She has sustained at least 40 per cent disability, and that disability was caused by an acid attack.
• The disability is certified by the competent medical authority in Punjab.
• She is a resident of Punjab, since the scheme is fully state-funded.

A person is not eligible if:

• The applicant is male. The published scheme covers females disabled by acid attacks.
• The disability is below 40 per cent, which is the threshold the department names.
• The disability was not caused by an acid attack, a burn injury from a fire, an accident or a chemical exposure at work falls outside this scheme, even where the disability is severe.
• There is no disability certificate connecting the disability to the attack. A hospital discharge summary alone is not sufficient.
• The applicant is not resident in Punjab.

The department's published description does not state an income ceiling, an age limit or a caste condition for this scheme. Do not assume the income limits used for Punjab's general disability financial assistance, which caps individual income at Rs 1,000 a month — apply here, because that is a different scheme with different conditions. Confirm the current requirements with your District Social Security Officer.

What documents are required?

How to apply for financial assistance as an acid attack victim

1. Get the disability certificate. Apply to the competent medical authority: normally the medical board at the district hospital, and make sure the certificate records both the disability percentage, which must be 40 per cent or more, and that the cause was an acid attack. A certificate that omits the cause will fail at the district office even if the percentage is high enough.
2. Assemble the case record. Collect the FIR copy or police record of the attack, along with hospital admission papers, treatment summaries and discharge notes. This is what links the certified disability to the attack.
3. Open or verify a bank account in your own name and confirm the account number and IFSC. The monthly assistance is credited directly to this account.
4. Collect the application form from the office of the District Social Security Officer (DSSO) or District Programme Officer (DPO) of your district. The department directs applicants to their nearest DPO for the benefits, validity and application procedure.
5. Submit the completed form with the disability certificate, FIR, medical records, residence proof, Aadhaar copy and bank passbook copy.
6. Take a written acknowledgement carrying a diary or receipt number, and keep it. Every follow-up runs on that number.
7. Follow up on sanction at the district office, and once sanctioned, check that the first credit reaches the account you gave.

If you are still in hospital or unable to travel, a family member or a legal aid worker can file the application on your behalf. The department's Women's Helpline 181 and 1091 are the fastest way to reach an officer who can direct you to the right district contact.

How do I check whether the assistance has been sanctioned?

There is no online status tracker for this scheme. Check it at the district office:

1. Visit the District Social Security Officer with your acknowledgement number.
2. Ask whether the file has been scrutinised, recommended and sanctioned, and from which month the payment starts.
3. Confirm the bank account on record matches your passbook exactly.
4. Ask for the sanction order number once approved, as that is what you quote if a monthly credit is later missed.

Why do applications get rejected, and how do you fix them?

• Disability certificate below 40 per cent. Fix: if your condition has worsened or the assessment was incomplete, apply for re-assessment by the medical board. If the certified percentage genuinely remains below 40, this scheme does not apply, but the general disability financial assistance may.
• Certificate does not name the cause as an acid attack. Fix: ask the medical board to reissue the certificate recording the cause, supported by the hospital records and the FIR.
• No FIR on record. Fix: register the complaint or obtain a copy of the existing police record. Where an FIR was never registered, take the matter up through legal aid, since the causal link is what this scheme is built on.
• Wrong or dormant bank account, causing the monthly credit to fail. Fix: submit a fresh passbook copy to the district office.
• Name mismatch across the disability certificate, FIR, Aadhaar and bank account. Fix: get the records aligned before the file is put up for sanction.
• Application filed in the wrong district. Fix: file where you reside, since the district office sanctioning the case is tied to residence.

Where do I complain or get help?

• First level: the District Social Security Officer or District Programme Officer of your district.
• Department helplines: Women's Helpline 181 and 1091, run by the Department of Social Security and Women & Child Development.
• Head office: the Department of Social Security and Women & Child Development, Punjab, email dsswcd@punjab.gov.in.
• State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Punjab, for disputes over the disability certificate or its percentage.

No fee may be charged to file this application or to release the monthly payment.

What else can an acid attack survivor claim in Punjab?

The Rs 8,000 monthly assistance is a rehabilitation payment and does not replace other entitlements. Compensation for the offence itself is dealt with through the courts and the victim compensation scheme administered by the legal services authority, which is a separate claim on a separate route. Free or subsidised treatment for acid attack injuries is a distinct obligation on hospitals. And for benefits that follow from the disability rather than from the attack, Punjab's general disability financial assistance of Rs 500 a month from the state plus Rs 300 from the Government of India, and the unemployment allowance of Rs 450 or Rs 600 a month depending on qualification, are available through the same district social security office. Ask the DSSO which of these can run alongside the Rs 8,000, because overlapping monthly payments are decided at district level.