The National Commission for Scheduled Castes have sought reply from the Chief Secretary, Tamil Nadu Government, on the actions taken by them in disbursing family pension to 843 Scheduled Castes atrocity victims.

Based on the petition submitted by the Dalit Liberation Movement – Tamil Nadu regarding delay in disbursement of pension amount to the families under the provisions of SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, the Commission has sought the reply of the Tamil Nadu government.

The petition of the forum read, “When people from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are murdered by perpetrators from other caste Hindu communities, the incident is registered by the police as an SC/ST Atrocity case.”

In such registered cases, to protect the livelihood and maintenance of the affected families, a family pension is provided by the State Government based on the regulations of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.

This special pension scheme, as per the Government of Tamil Nadu’s Government Order (G.O.) No. 16 dated February 13, 2025, mandated that all affected families must be provided a monthly family pension of ₹16,950 each.

Yet, while 843 beneficiaries from affected families in Tamil Nadu received the monthly pension amount till January 2026, the State Government has failed to provide the total amount of ₹4,51,42,650 to these 843 beneficiaries for the past three months of February, March, and April 2026.

“It is deeply regrettable that the family pension provided under government regulations for the livelihood and family maintenance of SC and ST people has been suspended for the past three months,” it added.

Stating the grievances of the beneficiaries, the statement of the forum appealed to the commission to intervene directly in the matter, considering the livelihood of the 843 families.

Adding, the statement said, “Appropriate action to immediately release the family pensions through the State Government’s Adi Dravidar Welfare Department should be taken. Also, we request that you take departmental action against the concerned officials who delayed the disbursement for three months.”