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Samurdhi beneficiaries left out of Aswesuma scheme say selection criteria unjust
Protests have erupted over the selection of names for the Aswesuma welfare benefit scheme which is scheduled to be implemented from July 1.
Claiming that the surveys carried out to identify the worst affected people were based on inaccurate information, groups who had previously enjoyed welfare benefits and found their names missing in new lists displayed at divisional secretariats staged protests in front of the respective offices. They included divisional secretariats of Mannar, Weligama, Trincomalee, Nuwara Eliya,Wattala and Tangalle.
Parliamentarian Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi raised concerns in Parliament on Friday and requested Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena to suspend the scheme until President Ranil Wickremesinghe returned from his visits to London and Paris. He claimed that among those excluded from the lists were sight and hearing-impaired people, and those suffering from chronic diseases such as kidney failure and cancer.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa pointed out that the number of poor in Sri Lanka has risen by 17 percent–from 3mn to 7mn. However, Aswesuma only caters to 1.2mn people. “That’s the reason for these protests,” he said.
But Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena denied that the beneficiaries were unjustly selected, and said there had been a period for objections by those who were dissatisfied.
Beneficiaries who earlier received Samurdhi and were excluded from Aswesuma insist the surveys were inaccurate and that ineligible people have also been included. Earlier in the year, some officials who were assigned to carry out these surveys had not done so, forcing the authorities to use volunteers.
It was reported from the Nuwara Eliya district that some of those who found themselves left out of the lists claim they hadn’t even been aware of the surveys. “Most in the estate sector follow Indian channels on satellite TV and are not aware of what is happening locally,” an official said.
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