Maintenance Allowance to Severely Affected Persons

What is the Maintenance Allowance to Severely Affected Persons?

Maintenance Allowance to Severely Affected Persons is a cash benefit of the Department for the Welfare of Differently Abled Persons, Government of Tamil Nadu. It pays Rs 2,000 per month to a person assessed at 75 per cent disability and above who cannot be rehabilitated by any other assistance. The money is credited by Direct Benefit Transfer to the beneficiary's bank account before the 5th of every month.

The department recorded 46,286 severely affected beneficiaries in 2024-25, the second largest group under the maintenance allowance framework after persons with intellectual disability. Across all six categories, 2,50,987 people received the allowance at a cost of Rs 57,679.23 lakh, with Rs 66,141.64 lakh provided in the Budget Estimate for 2025-26.

Where this category sits in the framework

The 75 per cent threshold is the highest in the framework, and it is deliberate. The other categories are defined by diagnosis: muscular dystrophy, autism, leprosy, and qualify at 40 per cent because the condition itself predicts a loss of earning capacity. The severely affected category is defined by degree instead: it is the catch-all for a person whose disability, of whatever origin, is so profound that no training, loan, appliance or job placement will produce an independent livelihood.

Who is eligible, and who is not eligible?

You can apply if:

• Your disability is assessed at 75 per cent and above on a disability certificate from a government medical board.
• You cannot be rehabilitated through the department's employment, self-employment, training or appliance routes.
• You are a resident of Tamil Nadu.
• You hold, or can obtain, the National Identity Disability Card from the District Differently Abled Welfare Office, or a UDID card.
• You have a bank account that can be seeded with Aadhaar, or a recorded guardian who operates one on your behalf.

There is no income test. Community, employment history and other family pensions are irrelevant to this scheme.

You cannot apply if:

• Your disability is assessed below 75 per cent. A person at 50 or 60 per cent is not eligible under this head, and should check whether one of the diagnosis-based categories at the 40 per cent threshold covers them, muscular dystrophy, autism spectrum disorder, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, leprosy or intellectual disability.
• You have no disability certificate from a government medical board.
• You are already drawing a disability allowance from the Revenue Department or another maintenance allowance. Only one such payment is permitted.
• You are resident outside Tamil Nadu.
• You can be rehabilitated through another route. In practice the district office will point you to the self-employment subsidy, the unemployment allowance for differently abled persons, or a training placement rather than the maintenance allowance.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the maintenance allowance for severely affected persons

1. Obtain the disability certificate. Assessment is done by the medical board at a Government Medical College Hospital, District Headquarters Hospital, Taluk or non-Taluk hospital, or at a special camp. The State Resource cum Training Centres at Chennai and Tiruchirappalli also issue certificates. The certificate must record an assessment of 75 per cent or above for this category.
2. Get the National Identity Disability Card from the District Differently Abled Welfare Office, which issues it to persons with 40 per cent and above disability. The UDID card is generated through swavlambancard.gov.in.
3. Open or confirm a bank account in the beneficiary's own name and get it seeded with Aadhaar. Where the person cannot operate an account, record the legal guardian's details with the district office.
4. Visit the e-Sevai centre nearest your residence and file the maintenance allowance application under the severely affected persons category. This is the department's specified route.
5. Submit the documents: disability certificate, NIDC or UDID, Aadhaar, bank passbook, ration card, residence proof and photograph — and collect the acknowledgement carrying the application number.
6. Wait for scrutiny by the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer, who verifies the certificate, the percentage and whether another rehabilitation route applies, before sanctioning.
7. Check the bank account from the 5th of the month after sanction. Payments are made by Direct Benefit Transfer before the 5th of every month.

How to check the status of your application

1. Return to the e-Sevai centre where you applied and ask for the status against your application number.
2. Contact the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer at the district headquarters. Differently Abled Welfare Offices function in all 39 districts, each headed by a District Differently Abled Welfare Officer assisted by rehabilitation and ministerial staff.
3. Call the toll-free helpline 1800-425-0111, or use WhatsApp video call 9499933703 if you are hearing impaired.
4. Check the bank passbook or SMS alerts after the 5th of each month.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix them

• Assessed below 75 per cent. This is the commonest reason. Either seek a re-assessment where the condition has worsened, or apply under a diagnosis-based category with a 40 per cent threshold if one fits.
• No disability certificate, or a certificate from a non-government source. Only a government medical board assessment counts.
• No National Identity Disability Card. Obtain it from the district office before or alongside the allowance application.
• Already drawing a Revenue Department disability allowance. Surrender one before claiming the other.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, which stops the DBT credit even after a valid sanction.
• Guardian not recorded where the beneficiary cannot operate the account.
• Name or address mismatch between the certificate, Aadhaar, ration card and bank account.

What else a severely affected person can claim in Tamil Nadu

The maintenance allowance is the cash floor, not the whole package. With the National Identity Disability Card, ask the District Differently Abled Welfare Office about:

• Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, available to identity card holders with no income limit, covering family members. Hearing aids and modular artificial limbs are supplied under it.
• Aids and appliances: tricycles, wheelchairs including battery-operated wheelchairs for spinal cases, crutches, CP chairs, calipers, artificial limbs, walkers, walking sticks, magnifiers and braille watches.
• Bus and train concessions, a 75 per cent bus fare concession across Tamil Nadu, the same concession for a doctor-certified escort accompanying a severely disabled person, and a three-fourths concession on train fares on a severe disability certificate.
• Marriage assistance of Rs 25,000 with 8 grams of gold, rising to Rs 50,000 with 8 grams of gold where one partner is a polytechnic diploma holder or graduate.
• Welfare Board benefits for registered members; funeral expenses of Rs 2,000, natural death assistance of Rs 15,000, accidental death assistance of Rs 1,00,000, delivery assistance of Rs 6,000 and education assistance for members' children.

Where to raise a grievance

• The District Differently Abled Welfare Officer at your district collectorate.
• The toll-free helpline 1800-425-0111, and WhatsApp video call 9499933703 for hearing impaired callers.
• The State Commissionerate for the Differently Abled, Chennai, scd.tn.gov.in.
• The district collector's grievance day for long-pending files.

Applying costs nothing beyond the small notified e-Sevai service fee. No agent can obtain a sanction, and no official will ask you for money to add your name to the list.