A probe in Kerala has found that as many as 1,458 government employees—including gazetted officers and college professors—have been fraudulently claiming social security pensions meant for the most vulnerable sections of the society.
The irregularity came to light during an inspection by the Information Kerala Mission, which manages the computerisation and networking of local self-governing institutions. The report said such violators are present in almost all state departments, with health and education leading the dubious lot. One violator who has claimed financial assistance from the state government even owns a BMW car.
The state provides a monthly pension of Rs 1,600 each to around 6.2 million people including widows, people with disabilities, and the elderly living below the poverty line. The support scheme is administered through local bodies such as gram panchayats, municipalities and urban corporations. The applications are supposed to be vetted at various levels.
Hence, the finding that so many government employees evaded these checks and took undue advantage of being embedded in the system is highly embarrassing. The finance department has directed the recovery of the unlawfully obtained amounts along with interest. The finance minister has also recommended strict disciplinary action against the violators, but has ruled out revealing their identities.
That the scamsters carried this out while the state is struggling on the financial front only accentuates the seriousness of the crime. We must also consider that their action has put an entire lot of government officers under the scanner. In such a situation, if the culprits’ details are not brought out, even honest officials will be under suspicion. The government officials who helped to put ineligible people on the beneficiary list should also face stern action, so that such abetment is not repeated.
Similar social security pension frauds have recently been detected in Rajasthan, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, too. Their recurrence underlines a wider malaise. State governments must put in place more iron-clad authentication measures to prevent such frauds. An annual mustering exercise involving the seeding of Aadhaar or other identification should be made compulsory for claiming pension. State governments must take stringent actions against those who rob monies meant for the most vulnerable sections of the society.