Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal has directed to conduct an inquiry against the officials involved in pension eligibility investigations, revenue officers, who issued income certificates, and the individuals responsible for granting pensions.
The Finance Department ordered a Vigilance Investigation into the welfare fund irregularities in the State Social Welfare Pension Scheme. It has been found that luxury car owners and gazetted government employees are included in the beneficiary list.
The department further instructed that updates on the investigation's progress should be reported on a monthly basis. It has been found that over 1458 people including gazetted officers fraudulently claimed social security pensions.
Balagopal also authorised the investigation following revelations of fraud and serious discrepancies in the pension distribution system in the 7th ward of Kottakkal Municipality.
A probe by the Malappuram Financial Inspection Division uncovered alarming findings. It has been found that among the 42 pension beneficiaries in the ward, 38 were found to be ineligible, including one deceased individual.
The investigation further revealed that high-value BMW car owners were included in the pension list, and several pension recipients were living in homes with modern amenities, like air conditioners, with floor areas exceeding 2,000 square feet.
Hence, the department has decided to expand the investigation to assess the eligibility of all social security pension beneficiaries in the municipality. The Local Self-Government Department has been instructed to guide the Municipality on how to conduct this review.
The Finance Department has indicated that eligibility verification will be conducted statewide to remove ineligible individuals from the pension list. In addition, local self-government bodies will be directed to carry out regular assessments of pension recipients’ eligibility, ensuring accountability in the disbursement process and strictly following continuous monitoring, officials said.
The Kerala government has outlined strict eligibility criteria for various welfare pension schemes to ensure they benefit only the deserving ones. The general criteria for availing of such pensions include that applicants must have an annual family income below Rs one lakh and not own luxury assets such as high-capacity vehicles or large, modern homes. Those receiving multiple pensions, paying income tax, or residing in care homes are also ineligible under the scheme's guidelines.
The investigation has also uncovered misuse of Aadhaar cards by officials who accessed beneficiary information to commit fraud. The data gathered through Aadhaar was used to illegally obtain duplicate payments or steal pension funds.
Large-scale fraud was carried out using this method. To prevent such incidents, the Finance Department has emphasised the role of the Service and Payroll Administrative Repository Kerala (SPARK) software, which makes pension beneficiary data accessible monthly. The information is cross-checked with Aadhaar details before pensions are disbursed, officials added.
The system also makes it easy to identify irregularities, such as individuals receiving multiple payments in a year or those whose pension payments have been misappropriated. With the SPARK system providing master data, the possibility of fraud through the manipulation of outdated personal details can be greatly reduced, they said.
