KANNUR: Many families were pushed into a predicament after the government released an order asking differently-abled people with an annual family income of Rs 1 lakh to pay back the pension they have taken for the last 10 years. The government has also stopped all pensions to people falling in the aforementioned category. The monthly pension is Rs 1600. More than 500 people have been notified.

The amount received from September 2010 to September 2022 is to be repaid to the head office branch account of State Cooperative Bank in the name of State Social Security Pension Limited. The record of repayment should also be reported to the panchayat offices. In the order issued by the Finance Department on October 27, it is suggested to repay within seven days. A person has to repay up to Rs 1.23 lakh. The parents of differently-abled people are now on a tiring run to find money to pay back.

Rs 1600 pension is mostly allowed to people with Congenital defects, mental challenges and people permanently disabled due to accidents or diseases. However, in reality, the one-month cost of medicine for these people is three times the pension amount allotted.

• The parents also submitted a petition to the Social Welfare Department and the Finance Department to remove the income limit for providing benefits to the differently abled.

• The provision of 20 per cent more than other social security pensions in the Disability Rights Act, 2016 has not been met.