BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government’s substantial hike in social security pensions for the elderly and the severely-disabled has triggered an increased demand for the assistance with some ineligible applicants resorting to manipulation of age details in voter IDs.
In January, the BJP government had hiked the monthly pension support from Rs 1,200 to Rs 3,500 for senior citizens aged 80 years and above and differently-abled people with 80 per cent or more disability. The minimum social security pension amount was also increased to Rs 1,000.
The move, hailed as a progressive step towards welfare security, was expected to benefit around 4.2 lakh vulnerable people in the state. But after months, officials of the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) department have begun encountering problems with applications submitted using fake documents.
Sources said many new applicants have been found to have furnished forged voter ID cards with altered date of birth or age, raising concerns about manipulation to become eligible for enhanced benefits. Elector’s photo identity card (EPIC), commonly accepted as proof of age in availing benefits under government schemes, has become unreliable in case of the social security pension as it is relatively easier to tamper with as compared to birth certificate or Aadhaar card.
“Considerable increase in the pension amount has made the scheme highly attractive. On the flip side, it seems to have opened the door for misuse and manipulation as a significant number of the new applications have been found with altered date of birth (in case of old cards) or age (in new cards),” said an official. The SSEPD department has alerted districts about the trend with secretary RS Gopalan asking collectors to verify applicants’ previous voter ID cards to detect discrepancies. “After the hike in pension amount, there has been an increased demand to avail such benefits. It has been found that a good number of new applicants applying for social security pension are producing voter I-cards issued recently with their date of birth changed,” he said, urging them to assess if the age of applicants has been recently amended in the EPIC.
The state has around 36.75 lakh beneficiaries under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY) and 21 lakh under National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP).
Social security
36.75L beneficiaries under MBPY
21L pensioners under NSAP
4.2L getting pension of Rs 3,500
Minimum pension enhanced to Rs 1,000