BHUBANESWAR: From April the beneficiaries of social security schemes will not be able to draw their pension without seeding Aadhaar number to their bank accounts.
The State Government has made linking of the 12-digit unique identification number with the accounts of beneficiaries under National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) and Madhubabu Pension Yojana (MBPY) mandatory to check pilferage.
All districts have been asked to complete Aadhaar seeding in respect of all beneficiaries of pension schemes by March 15.
They have been directed to ensure Aadhaar verification before sanctioning any new beneficiary under both NSAP and MBPY.
The District Social Security Officers (DSSO) were instructed to complete the linking and verification of Aadhaar by the extended time of October-end, but only 76 pc beneficiaries under NSAP and 69 pc under MBPY were linked.
Aadhaar seeding of MBPY beneficiaries is not satisfactory as 27 pc beneficiaries are yet to be linked. The seeding of NSAP beneficiaries has risen to 91 pc by December 31.
Expressing displeasure over poor progress in verification of Aadhaar, Secretary of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) Bhaskar Sarma has asked all district collectors and DSSOs to make the seeding 100 per cent in both the categories to ensure complete transparency.
In a bid to make it happen, districts have been advised to ask the beneficiaries whose Aadhaar verification/seeding is pending to mandatorily bring a copy of their Aadhaar card when they come to receive their pension on January 15.
“Those who fail to bring the Aadhaar card will be offered another opportunity to do the same on February 15. Beneficiaries without Aadhaar card will be taken to block office where a team will be mobilised to collect their particular for issuance of Aadhaar card,” said an official.
A block-wise list of beneficiaries who do not have UID card will be prepared. The process of capturing Aadhaar particulars of the beneficiaries will be completed by January 31, he added.
Meanwhile, the DSSOs have been asked to identify the beneficiaries, who have died, and delete the names of those who continue in NSAP even after they are covered under MBPY or vice versa.
They will take all possible steps to ensure that no eligible beneficiary is left out.