The Kerala government has stumbled upon a financial scam involving nearly 1,500 government employees fraudulently receiving social security pension meant for the extremely poor.
Those receiving ₹1,600 per month included gazetted officers and college professors, some of whom possessed expensive cars such as BMWs.
Officials of local bodies such as gram panchayat, municipalities and corporations are responsible for verifying pension applications and issuing certificates to genuine beneficiaries.
Kerala doles out financial and other benefits, including free ration kits, through various schemes. The social welfare pension scheme is meant for those above 60 years of age and whose annual income is below ₹1 lakh.
The state government has run up five months' arrears in clearing the pension because of a severe financial crunch.
Kerala had hit the national headlines last year when 87-year-old Mariyakutty took to the streets of her hometown Adimali in Idukki district with a begging bowl, protesting against the denial of old-age pension for months. Mariyakutty has now threatened to hit the streets once again.
The fraud was detected during a routine inspection conducted by the Information Kerala Mission, which oversees the digitalisation and networking of self-governance institutions in the state.
State finance minister K.N. Balagopal has indicated that the number of people drawing this benefit illegally may be much more. Though the minister has promised to take strict disciplinary action against the culprits, he ruled out revealing the names of the government employees involved in the scam.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had in 2022 already flagged the pension fraud and revealed that 9,201 employees were fraudulently receiving benefits amounting to ₹39 crore. However, no action was taken at that time.
The ruling Left Front government claims to provide the social welfare pension to more than 62 lakh beneficiaries, a figure strongly contested by critics.
Policy researcher J.S. Adoor said the number of people above 60 years of age in Kerala is 42 lakh. "Where is the question of 62 lakh beneficiaries?" he said. “If you are a CPM follower, you will be given pension and jobs in panchayats, cooperative banks and other incentives. There is no transparency, no accountability.”
Economist Mary George said the revelation of financial irregularities was “just the tip of the iceberg”. She said the government could have stopped the embezzlement of funds if it had acted on the CAG report.
“The CPM government conveniently shut its eyes to its own people. It is the current financial crunch that has forced the government to reveal this irregularity. We have no money to pay even regular salaries. This is a case of grave financial mismanagement,” she said.
