Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 11 (PTI) The Kerala government, which is facing an acute financial crisis, announced on Monday that the distribution of one instalment of the Social Security and Welfare Fund pension will commence on March 15.

Announcing the decision, State Finance Minister K N Balagopal said that all those who have undergone muster roll verification will receive the amount.

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"As usual, the pension will be delivered directly to those who have provided their bank account numbers, while others will receive it at home through cooperative societies," he said in a statement.

The minister said that steps are being taken to distribute the pension in the respective month starting from April, "despite the Central government's ongoing financial constraints on Kerala."

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"Efforts are being made to squeeze the state by withholding their share of taxes and other revenues, and by preventing them from accessing the credit they deserve," Balagopal alleged.

He further alleged that due to the state's petition filed in the Supreme Court against such actions, the Centre has also hindered the loans that could be obtained at the end of the financial year.

"Nevertheless, the state continues to proceed with activities that provide comfort to the people, including welfare pension. The government is committed to promptly resolving the problems faced by the common people and ensuring the proper implementation of relief schemes," Balagopal said.

The decision to provide pensions for the poor was taken after the government came under attack from the opposition Congress-led UDF over the delay in distributing them and made it an issue for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)