2 crore in pension to 'dead' recipients: CAG reports failure in government plan

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has discovered a number of irregularities in the implementation of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), a centrally-sponsored scheme that provides social pensions to the elderly, widows, and people with disabilities living below the poverty line (BPL). According to research, governments in 26 states handed out pensions to around 2,103 pensioners totaling $2 million even after their deaths. The research was carried out between 2017 and 2021.

Also Read: After Tomato’s Inflation, Will Onion Be The Next Pocket Bleeder?

According to the NSAP standards, pension payments cease upon the recipient's death, migration, or crossing the BPL threshold. However, the research discovered that local governments in several states neglected to record deaths in a timely manner, resulting in the overpayment of pensions to people who no longer exist.

West Bengal had the biggest amount of excess payment to beneficiaries even after death, followed by Gujarat and Tripura, with 453 accounts totaling 83.27 lahks, 413 worth 11.83 lahks, and 250 worth 1.83 lahks, respectively. Manipur, Mizoram, and Puducherry had the lowest excess pension payments to 'dead' pensioners.

The CAG analysis also discovered that 13 states paid pensions to nearly 2.4 lakh recipients at a lesser rate than the NSAP rules, resulting in a 42.85 crore shortfall.

Meanwhile, four states – Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, and Jammu & Kashmir — paid the pension to individuals who earned more than the permitted amount.

For reference, the NSAP standards state that beneficiaries under the IGNOAPS, IGNWPS, and IGNDPS sub-schemes should be paid between $200 and $300 each month. Beneficiaries above the age of 80 will get $500 per month.

Approximately 2.83 crores of the scheme's funds designated for information, education, and communication (IEC) initiatives were diverted for lobbying for other programs. Similarly, monies totaling 57.45 crores were diverted to other projects in six states and union territories.

According to CAG, the absence of proactive identification and non-maintenance of a database of eligible beneficiaries, non-constitution of special verification teams, non-conduct of annual verification indicated ineffective checks at the ground level for weeding out ineligible beneficiaries, absence of a prescribed procedure for the proactive identification of beneficiaries, and lack of IEC activities were among the causes of such anomalies.

OTT India updates you with the latest news, Country’s no.1 digital news platform OTT India, Keeps you updated with national, and international news from all around the world. For more such updates, download the OTT India app on your Android and IOS device.