Silicosis patients waiting for help: Due to non-availability of funds from DFFT, patients are not getting financial assistance

The government may have made a separate arrangement for providing financial assistance to silicosis patients in Rajasthan, but the truth is that new patients have to wait a long time for this assistance from the government. For the last three months, the department is not issuing financial assistance to the newly registered patients. Because of this, the patients have been going around the CMHO office and e-Mitras for a long time now.
However, in this matter, the officials of the Specially Abled Department say that no matter is being kept pending from our side. The funds which are supposed to come from the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DFFT) are not coming. Due to this, there is a lack of budget in the PD account. As soon as the money comes, all the pending cases will be settled and the payment will be made.
Under the new pneumoconiosis (silicosis) policy made by the government, financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh is given immediately to any person who has silicosis and his certificate is issued. On the other hand, after the death of a registered silicosis patient, his dependent family is given the assistance of Rs 2 lakh. Apart from this, a monthly pension of 1500 rupees is given to the victim, and assistance of 500 to 1000 rupees is given to the children of the patient under the Palnahar Yojana. But for the last 3 months, the newly registered patients are not getting financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh.
If we see the report of all 33 districts in Rajasthan, more than 1200 cases are pending, which are waiting for assistance. Most of the cases are of newly registered patients. According to sources, the financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh is not being paid to the newly registered patients since February. Only in the death case, an assistance of Rs 2 lakh is being made available to the dependents.
If you see the district-wise report, a maximum number of cases are still pending in Karauli. Here, there are 219 cases in which the certificate has been issued from the Medical Board, but the victim has not yet received the assistance amount. After this, the second number is Sirohi district where 155 cases are pending. Apart from these, in Dholpur, Bharatpur, more than 50-50 victims are waiting for the aid amount for the last 2-3 months.
Social Justice and Empowerment Chief Government Secretary Samit Sharma said that we have paid Rs 10 crore in the last two months. In this, financial assistance has been given to a large number of patients and their dependents. Action is being taken to get the amount from Labor Department and DMFT, we are likely to get it from Jodhpur DMFT within a week and efforts are on to get the amount from the rest of the other districts as well. Pending cases will be paid as soon as the amount is received.