Kerala Orders Cancellation, Recovery Of Social Security Pension From Ineligibles
Thiruvandanapuram, Kerala: After an inspection recently revealed ineligible individuals receiving social security pensions meant for the unprivileged in Kerala, the state government on Thursday ordered the cancellation of the scheme for those who were fraudulently receiving it. The government has ordered the recovery of money already provided to the ineligible persons while charging an additional 18% of the amount as interest.
The government has also decided to take departmental-level action against officials who were involved in processing the pension schemes of the ineligible persons for helping them to obtain the benefits.
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As the pension schemes are being handled by the local self-governing institutions such as panchayats and municipalities, the government in the circular also directed them to take action to strictly implement the decision in their jurisdiction.
The state government’s actions follow shocking revelations that the beneficiaries of the social security pensions included even owners of the BMW cars and luxurious residents in a municipality. The fraud was discovered in an audit conducted by the Finance Department in the Kottakkal Municipality in the Malappuram district. The audit revealed that 38 out of 42 pension recipients were ineligible, while one listed beneficiary is a deceased person, as per reports.
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The government action also comes on the backdrop of a revelation that around 1,500 government employees, including gazetted officers and college professors, were fraudulently receiving social security pensions. The fraud was disclosed in an inspection held by the Information Kerala Mission, which aims at computerizing and networking local self-government institutions in Kerala.
There are eligibility criteria for the pension recipients under various security pensions in the state, including not owning luxury assets.
