- Over 3.3 million applicants are eligible
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued directives for the implementation of the “Aswesuma” welfare benefit payments, which are set to commence on July 1st. The necessary gazette has been published in accordance with the authorities delegated to President Ranil Wickremesinghe as Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization, and National Policy.
The welfare benefits will be distributed among four social categories, including transitional, vulnerable, poor, and extremely poor. In addition, the standard allowances for differently-abled individuals, elderly persons, and kidney patients will also be provided.
The payment plan entails Rs.2,500.00 per month for 400,000 transitional beneficiaries until December 31, 2023, Rs.5,000.00 per month for 400,000 vulnerable beneficiaries until March 31, 2024, Rs.8,500.00 per month for 800,000 poor beneficiaries, and Rs.15,000.00 per month for extremely poor beneficiaries for a period of three years starting on July 1, 2023.
Currently, 72,000 differently-abled individuals receiving welfare benefits will receive Rs.5000.00 each month, 39,150 people receiving kidney support will receive Rs.5000.00 each month, and 416,667 individuals receiving senior assistance will each receive Rs.2000.00 per month.
As of May 8, approximately 3,712,096 applications for welfare benefits have been received from 340 Divisional Secretariats throughout the island. Verification of program information to identify eligible recipients of these welfare benefits is underway, with 91.5% of the process completed as of the aforementioned date.
The selection committees, consisting of three members at the regional office level, have monitored the data, and the district secretary has initiated the approval process.
The highest number of confirmed and finalized applications are from the Vavuniya district, which is 98%, followed by 96.5% from the Kandy district, 96% from the Kilinochchi district, 96% from the Jaffna district, and 95.5% from the Trincomalee district, respectively. Thus far, 3,362,040 applications have been verified across the entire island.
