New Delhi: A total of 13,212 surviving freedom fighters continue to receive pension under the Centre’s Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY), the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.

Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar provided the figures in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

He said that 9,778 widows of freedom fighters are also beneficiaries of the scheme.

"There are 1,71,689 freedom fighters who received a central pension under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY) till date. There are 13,212 pensioners who are still alive and receiving SSSY Samman pension. There are 9,778 widows (spouses) who are still alive and are receiving SSSY Samman pension," he said.

The data shared by the minister revealed that the Ministry of Home Affairs has disbursed ₹599 crore under the scheme for 2024-25.

Of the 13,212 freedom fighters still alive, the maximum of 3,017 are based in Telangana, followed by West Bengal (1,799), Maharashtra (1,543), Bihar (988) and Tamil Nadu (801).

As for the widows of freedom fighters, the highest number reside in Telangana at 2,165, followed by Maharashtra (1,274), West Bengal (1,095) and Bihar (693).

The Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana, introduced in 1980, offers pensions to those who participated in nearly 40 significant movements during India’s freedom struggle between 1857 and 1947.

Kumar said the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) in Delhi maintains the list of freedom fighters or martyrs of the country's freedom struggle under a project, entitled "Dictionary of Martyrs: Indian Freedom Struggle (1857-1947)".

Eligibility for receiving pension under SSSY includes a minimum of six months’ imprisonment in mainland jails prior to independence.

In case of women and SC-ST freedom fighters, the minimum period of actual imprisonment to be eligible to receive pension is three months. A person who remained underground for six months or more is also eligible.

PTI