The Odisha government has directed all district collectors to identify and remove ghost beneficiaries under the social security pension scheme.

Department of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD), principal secretary, Bishnupada Sethi has written letters to collectors on November 3 regarding ghost beneficiaries under the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY) and National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP).

"It has come to the notice of the department that death cases are not being reported properly, for which the money is being credited to a non-existing person," Sethi said.

He said proper identification of death vacancies and its immediate filling up is a prerequisite for ensuring that eligible needy people get their entitlements smoothly.

The block development officers (BDOs) should review the pension matter every month, cancel pension in cases of death and ensure that a new beneficiary is included in the scheme to ensure that the vacancy remains nil all the time, he instructed.

During the review for the month of October 2023, he said, 12,405 vacancies were found under MBPY and 6,614 under NSAP.

Moreover, the pension of 41,046 NSAP beneficiaries could not be credited through DBT as required. And the reasons of which the pension was not credited are not known, Sethi pointed out.

"Though verified online applications are pending with the district administrations to be sanctioned, it is sad that vacancies are not being filled up," said the letter.

The district administrations should take proactive steps in identifying the vacancies and fill up the same as soon as possible so that the pending eligible applicants can be accommodated, he added.

The collectors have been directed to properly scrutinize and verify the pensioners and take necessary measures for immediate filling up of the vacancies under both pension schemes.

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