Big pension scam exposed in Punjab, pension to 90 thousand dead pensioners
Various schemes are being run by the central and state governments of the country for the economically backward classes and needy people. In which free ration and pension schemes are made available especially for the needy people. From time to time, reports of corruption in such government schemes also come to the fore. Usually, some time before the elections, the local leaders get the beneficiary cards issued to those ineligible people. Due to the corruption spread in the government system, even strong people from financial condition keep taking advantage of government schemes like pension or free ration. Due to this corruption, the rightfully entitled people of the government scheme are deprived. He keeps on making rounds of the offices to take advantage of the government scheme. But on the other hand, the people close to the leaders and government employees get the benefits of these schemes while sitting at home.
In Punjab, a survey by the Department of Social Security – Women and Child Development has exposed the issue of corruption in the list of pensioners on a large scale. In the year 2020 also, a case of large-scale money theft was reported with the department identifying 70,137 “fake” pensioners who illegally took away Rs 162.35 crore in old age pension. The arrears of crores of rupees on these ineligible pensioners could not be recovered so far. The Punjab government had issued a notification in June 2017 to investigate and identify suspicious pensioners. But the fake pensioners continued to take pension illegally. This time also the case of theft of money on a large scale has come to the fore with the Social Security and Women and Children Development Department in Punjab. Many shortcomings were also found in the pension list given to the elderly, widows, dependent children and disabled. During the scrutiny survey of pension list in Punjab, more than 90 thousand such beneficiaries were found who have died. But his family members did not inform the department and the bank about it. Due to which their relatives continued to receive the pension coming in the name of the deceased. The department kept on sending pension every month to the bank accounts of the deceased pensioner. Similarly, with the help of Anganwadi staff on behalf of the Child Development Program Officer, door-to-door investigation was conducted in the matter of providing financial assistance to dependent children. In this, 657 dependent children were found, whose age is more than 21 years. Similarly, in the investigation conducted in the case of disability pension, there are 2,890 cases in which most of the pensioners have died. The department has issued letters to the district officers for the recovery of the deceased whose pension accounts have been falling. District officers have been asked to get recovery from the pensioners who have taken pension illegally from the concerned banks.
The department has canceled pension in 8,827 cases involving technical glitches. Now there is talk of recovery from these 8,827 illegal pensioners also. According to the officers of the Department of Social Security, now recovery will be done in these such cases. The pension of the pensioner found dead in the investigation has been deducted. The department has started taking action in such cases. The records of more than 30 lakh pensioners of Punjab were checked door-to-door. After the investigation survey, 5,791 widow pensions have also been discontinued. Most of these pensioners have died and many widows did not inform the department even after getting remarried.
Lakhs of pensioners have died in many districts of Punjab. In the survey of pensioner list by the department, 11,673 cases were found in Sangrur district in which pensioners have died. In district Jalandhar, 10,552 pensioners were found dead. In district Ludhiana, pensioners have died in 8,672 cases. 5,661 cases have been found in Amritsar district. In Moga, 5,558, in Patiala district, more than five thousand pensioners have died. 5,331 cases have been found in Ropar district, 4,942 in Nawanshahr district and more than 4 thousand cases in Gurdaspur district. Similarly, pensioners were found dead in 3,828 cases in district Tarn Taran, 3,821 in district Kapurthala, 3,461 in Pathankot district. Apart from 2,578 in Barnala district, more than 2 thousand cases have been found in Mansa district. In the investigation of the pensioner list by the department, many cases have also been found in Faridkot, Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Fazilka, Fatehgarh Sahib, Firozpur, in which pensioners have died. Surprisingly, Sangrur district is at number one in the list of pensioners who took pension illegally in the year 2022. 11,673 pensioners have died. Pension was coming in their accounts. In the report that came out in the year 2020, Sangrur district was also on the top in the list of pensioners taking pension illegally. At that time 12,573 illegal pensioners were found in Sangrur district. According to the Social Security Department, the pension of the pensioners who have been found dead in the list of pensioners in different districts of the state of Punjab has been stopped. The department is taking care that only the needy and deserving people can get the benefit of the pension scheme.
