Thiruvananthapuram: Strict action will be taken against the government employees in Kerala who are found to be fraudulently receiving welfare pensions meant for weaker sections, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
CM's warning came in view of the findings that around 1,500 government employees, including gazetted officers and college professors, had fraudulently claimed social security pensions. The decision was taken at a special meeting convened by the Chief Minister to deal with the issue, a government release issued on Saturday said.
Disciplinary action will be taken at the departmental level against those found to have fraudulently claimed pensions. Efforts will be taken to make them repay the pension received with interest, the release added.
Action will be taken against both the ineligible beneficiaries and the officials who were responsible for this. Names of the deceased individuals will be removed from the pension list after conducting an appropriate concurrent mustering, the release said.
An annual mustering will be made mandatory, and a face authentication system will be introduced for this process, it further stated. Furthermore, income certificates and Aadhaar seeding will be made compulsory, too.
Earlier, an inspection conducted by the Information Kerala Mission, which envisages computerisation and networking of local self-government institutions in Kerala, had found that 1,458 government employees in the state are receiving social security pensions.
Following this, Finance Minister K N Balagopal ordered stringent disciplinary action against the errant officials. The Chief Minister emphasised that it was not acceptable to collect benefits through mustering after joining government service, the release said.
The Chief Minister also directed that the eligibility of welfare recipients be verified through local self-government institutions; the ongoing auditing by the Finance Department will be continued, the release added.
The general criteria for availing the social welfare pensions include that applicants' annual family income should be below Rs 1 lakh, the applicants should not own luxury assets such as high-capacity vehicles or large, modern homes. Those receiving multiple pensions, those who pay income tax, or reside in care homes are also ineligible under the scheme's guidelines.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister K N Balagopal, Chief Secretary Saradha Muraleedharan, Additional Chief Secretary of the Finance Department A Jayathilak, Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister K M Abraham, Principal Director of the Local Self-Government Department V Sambasiva Rao, IKM Executive Director Santosh Babu, and other officials.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan alleged that the state government had not taken any action even after the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) report in 2022 cited severe irregularities in the social welfare pension distribution. "The government should initiate stringent action against the errant employees," he urged.
According to an audit conducted by the state's Finance Department targeting beneficiaries in Kottakkal Municipality in Malappuram district, owners of BMW cars and residents of air-conditioned homes have been found listed as recipients of social security pensions meant for the poor, in Kerala.
This shocking revelation from Kottakkal Municipality prompted State Finance Minister Balagopal to instruct officials to expand the scope of such audits statewide and ensure the removal of all ineligible persons from the beneficiary lists.
