Haryana just promised its seniors ₹3,000 a month: here’s who qualifies

Senior citizens in Haryana who are struggling to support themselves financially now have a direct route to a monthly pension of ₹3,000 through the state’s Old Age Samman Allowance. The scheme, run by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of Haryana, targets the needier and poorer sections of society, including agricultural labourers, rural artisans, members of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, and small and marginal farmers who cannot sustain themselves with their own resources.

To qualify, an applicant must be 60 years of age or above and must be domiciled in and a resident of Haryana. There is also an income cap: the applicant’s total income from all sources, including that of their spouse, must not exceed ₹3,00,000 per annum. The scheme carries one important exclusion, however, anyone already receiving a pension from a government body, a local or statutory body, or an organisation substantially financed by such a body is not eligible for this allowance, since the two benefits cannot be drawn together.

The allowance is disbursed through the Panchayati Raj Institutions, with implementation carried out via the Zila Parishads at the district level. Applicants can apply either online or offline. For the online route, the process runs through the state’s ‘Antyodaya SARAL’ portal, where a new user first registers with basic personal details and a strong password, verifies their email and mobile number via OTP, and then logs in to browse all available services. From there, applicants select the Old Age Samman Allowance from the list of schemes, fill in the mandatory fields, complete a self-declaration, attach the required documents as annexures, and submit the form. A printed acknowledgement receipt is generated at the end of the process and should be retained for future reference. Those who prefer not to apply online can instead visit their nearest Atal Seva Kendra, hand over the required documents to the staff on duty, and have the application forwarded to the concerned authority for verification.

Documentation is where many applicants stumble, so it is worth gathering everything in advance. Age can be proven with a birth certificate, a school certificate from the 5th, 8th, or 10th class, a voter card, or the applicant’s name with photograph on the electoral roll; if none of these are available, the applicant must approach the District Social Welfare Officer for a referral to a district civil hospital medical examination to assess age. Residence is established through a ration card, a voter card, or the electoral roll entry with photograph, all issued at least 15 years prior, or through a self-declaration verified by the District Social Welfare Officer if no such document exists. Applicants are also asked to provide an optional Aadhaar Card, their savings bank account details along with a photocopy of the passbook, and their Family ID.

The scheme carries no advertised deadline, meaning eligible applicants can apply at any point, and applications can be tracked either through the SARAL Portal’s dedicated tracking feature by entering an appeal or application reference ID, or by sending an SMS with the applicant’s Application ID to 7738299899 from their registered mobile number. Once approved, the pension amount is credited directly to the recipient’s bank account each month. The SARAL Helpline is available at 0172-3968400 between 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM, Monday to Saturday, excluding government holidays, and queries can also be emailed to saral.haryana@gov.in.

The Old Age Samman Allowance is issued by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of Haryana.

Elderly man in traditional turban and shawl in rural India: Wikimedia Commons/by The open draft