Haryana govt mulls including cancer patients under social security pension scheme

The Manohar Lal Khattar-led government in Haryana is planning to include cancer patients from the state under the ambit of its social security pension scheme.

Haryana: The Haryana government is contemplating to include cancer patients of the state under the ambit of its social security pension scheme.

Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment O P Yadav said the state government is contemplating a pension scheme for cancer patients on the lines of old-age pension.

"Like old-age people, physically challenged people, the government wants to give cancer patients of any age the pension cover on the same scale as is given to these categories," Yadav told the media.

He said his department has sought data from the health department to know how many people of the state are cancer-affected so that they could include them under the pension scheme.

Yadav said the government was also contemplating giving pension to those who are HIV positive and formalities in this regard were being completed.

Besides, data of patients afflicted with serious kidney ailments, including those who have undergone transplant was also being gathered.

"We intend to include them too under the pension scheme," he said.

At present, over 28 lakh beneficiaries get social security pension of Rs 2,250 per month.

(PTI report)