THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An air-conditioned house or an SUV in the porch are generally associated with one’s elite status. However, these outward signs of wealth do not necessarily reflect the economic status of inmates, say some beneficiaries of the government’s social security pension scheme. The government and local bodies are receiving several petitions with bizarre explanations from people whose pension was stopped after being found ineligible. A senior citizen from Malappuram said in his complaint that his name was excluded for having AC rooms in his house. He claimed AC was not a luxury but a necessity considering the climatic change.
As per the scheme’s criteria, people living in houses with an area above 2,000 sq ft or houses with AC rooms or air-conditioned vehicles above 1000 CC (except taxis) are ineligible for the scheme. The beneficiary’s annual family income, excluding the income of married off children, should be below `1 lakh.
About 5 lakh ineligible persons were removed from the beneficiary list in different rounds since 2019. The finance department identified them by cross-checking with different databases like that of the dead, motor vehicle owners and income tax payers.
The latest was the cross-checking with the database on farmers getting rubber subsidy. Those getting rubber subsidy have at least two acres of land which makes them ineligible for pension. About 9,000 farmers were identified so. Their details were handed over to local-self governments for a recheck and removal if ineligible. Of late, the government has started recovery of siphoned of money from illegal beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, the government has started a big exercise to verify financial status of beneficiaries. For the first time, existing beneficiaries have been asked to produce an income certificate from the village officer. This is to ensure that their annual family income is below the stipulated `1 lakh. At least a quarter of the over 50 lakh beneficiaries will find it difficult to produce the certificate, said sources in the finance department.
Last week, the department wrote to the revenue department seeking a direction to village officers to carry out proper verification before issuing the certificate. The letter said village officers should not solely rely on beneficiary’s ration card. Instead, income of family members and revenue from family’s properties should also be counted.
Envious neighbours too help the government in identifying ineligible beneficiaries. The LSGs and finance department received several complaints on affluent persons availing of the scheme. Most of them turned true in verification. An average 25,000 people join the scheme every month and hence removing the ineligible is imperative for the cash-strapped government. The spending for pension payment to 50.53 lakh people for August was `771.75 crore.