As she does needlework sitting outside her parents' small house in Valliullah ni Chali, Saraspur, Sherbanu occasionally steals a glance at the passersby walking past the entrance to the narrow bylane, looking for the postman who will bring the money-order. But the postman hasn't come for the last four months.

``I went to the office (of the Social Defence Department). They told me the Government did not have any money,'' she says, looking up from the exquisite parrot taking shape on the white cloth held taut in a round wooden frame. Disowned by her in-laws after Zakir's death, it's a daily battle to keep her self-respect. ``All I am asking for is Rs 580.Why don't they pay it regularly?'' she asks, her voice cracking with pain.

Clinging to the solace of old parents, Sherbanu knows she has long years of uncertainty ahead. ``Thank God my parents are alive. Once they are dead, where will I go?'' she asks.

Sherbanu is one of the many of 12,000-odd widows in Ahmedabad district who have not received their pension since April. Under the revised Widows' Pension Scheme, a widow between 18 to 60 years is entitled to Rs 500 per month, with an additional Rs 80 per minor child (up to two children). The other eligibility is individual annual income below Rs 1,200 and family income below Rs 3,600. The payment is made every two months. But it's four months and no sign of the money. L Man Singh says additional chief secretary, social welfare, the delay is due to a sudden, two-fold rise in the number of beneficiaries in the past year or so. ``After the pension was raised to Rs 500, the number of beneficiaries in the State has gone up to over 37,000 from the earlier18,000,'' he explains.

So, the grant sanctioned has already been disbursed, leaving many widows in the lurch. Last year, Rs 8 crore was disbursed under the scheme, but this year even Rs 28 crore has proved inadequate, Man Singh says. He assures the issue has been sorted out and widows in Ahmedabad district would soon get their money. However, sources in the department say staff crunch and red tape are also to blame. The department's local office, which disburses the pension to 12,000 widows, has just three clerks. So assessment of applications alone takes about three months. Once grant is sanctioned, the skeleton staff calculates postal commission and gets money order forms printed, taking their own time.

At the receiving end are women like Raziabanu Ansari and Khalijabibi Sheikh. When Khalijabibi was admitted to a general hospital for high blood pressure, she had to borrow from neighbours to pay for treatment and medicines. ``But I won't go to the Government office now. When I once went there, they gaveme such a cold response. That is probably because I am illiterate,'' she says.