• GNs, DOs, Samurdhi Officers presently visiting households

All the deficiencies in the Aswesuma social welfare benefits programme are expected to be resolved by the end of March of this year, claimed Deputy Minister of Rural Development, Social Security, and Community Empowerment, Wasantha Piyathissa.

The Government recently launched a programme to look into those who were subjected to injustice during the process of beneficiaries being selected for the Aswesuma programme.

When queried by The Daily Morning regarding its progress, Piyathissa said that the relevant Government officials such as the Grama Niladharis (GNs), Development Officers (DOs), and Samurdhi Officers have been instructed to visit households and collect data. 

“The issue is that some eligible families are excluded from the programme, and certain ineligible families are included in it. We will be resolving this issue by the end of March,” he said.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had given directions to initiate the Aswesuma programme, which commenced from 1 July 2023. Under the programme, a monthly allowance of Rs. 5,000 is provided to those in the transitional and vulnerable categories, Rs. 10,000 to those in the poor category, and Rs. 17,500 to those in the extremely poor category.

The census of low-income families who have applied for the second phase of the Aswesuma programme commenced on Monday (21). The Welfare Benefits Board (WBB) had reportedly received nearly 800,000 applications for the second phase. For the first phase, the WBB had received 3.4 million applications, of which nearly 1.8 million had qualified as beneficiaries.