Opposition Member of Parliament Virendra Lal has urged the government to prioritize the needs of all social welfare recipients. Speaking in Parliament yesterday, he addressed the recent delays in social welfare allowance payments that occurred earlier this week. Lal emphasized that such delays are unacceptable and must not happen in the future. He called on the Ministry of Finance to enhance its systems to ensure timely payments.
On Monday, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection explained that the delays in August’s social welfare allowance payments were due to the transition to the government’s new financial year. Minister for Women Lynda Tabuya assured that starting in September, all monthly payments would resume according to the normal schedule.
Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad confirmed there were no issues with the finance system and reiterated that the Social Welfare Ministry had already clarified the reason for the delays. He stated that all allowances have been fully paid. Approximately 104,000 beneficiaries receive support through various schemes, including the family assistance scheme, social pension scheme, care and protection allowance, disability allowance, rural pregnant mother food allowance, and transport assistance scheme.