Thiruvananthapuram: The government has informed the State Election Commission that steps to provide the ₹1,000 monthly benefit under the women’s security pension scheme—intended for women who do not receive any other pension or welfare assistance—will be taken only after the local body elections. This was conveyed in the explanation submitted by the Chief Secretary to the Commission in response to complaints that applications for the pension had been accepted during the election campaign, allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct.

The government also clarified that the application form for inclusion in the pension scheme has not yet been finalised, and that applications will only be accepted online. It confirmed that the forms that had been distributed were fake applications.

The Commission will forward the government’s explanation to the district-level monitoring committees.