10,950 pensioners enrolled in four months: Audit report

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, March 1

In an astonishing revelation in a pension ‘scam’ unearthed in Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s segment in November 2014, it has come to light that the Social Welfare Department had enrolled 10,950 new pensioners in Karnal in four months (December 2013 to April 2014) in comparison to 30,442 new pensioners enrolled in the remaining 20 districts of the state during the same tenure.

The special audit report (submitted to the police) submitted by the department in May 2014 revealed that as many as 45,722 new pensioners were enrolled in Karnal district from 2012 to 2014. Out of them, 10,950 were enrolled in only four months.

In this case, the police have registered a case against 11 persons, including retired District Social Welfare Officer Baljeet Singh. However, no arrest has been made so far yet.

As per the report, 11,904 application forms were missing from the record. These applicants enjoyed the withdrawal of pension of Rs 6.73 crore, which is to be recovered from them.

The Deputy Director, Social Justice and Empowerment Department, alleged in a complaint to the police that they had verified the age of all the beneficiaries with the dates available on the website and it revealed that 5,232 beneficiaries were below the age of 60 years and in the age group of 24 to 59.

It was also found that only two doctors had certified 16,487 applications without these being passed through any other official, which could be either the BDPO or the secretary, MC. These applications had been finalised by the authorities without being authenticated with voter cards, said a police official.

Meanwhile, following a complaint, the then Deputy Commissioner, Balraj Singh, had ordered an inquiry to ADC Girish Arora, who found several irregularities in this matter.

“The police are investigating the matter. All the allegations will be probed minutely and no one guilty will be spared. The signatures of the doctors will also be verified,” said Lalit Kumar, SHO, Civil Lines.

Eligible await pension

Even as thousands of ineligible beneficiaries allegedly enjoyed the privilege of pension, thousands of applicants who are in dire need of this assistance are running from pillar to post.

As per the record of the department, more than 1,000 applicants have been waiting for the benefit of pension for the last six months.

Kiran, a resident of Nigdhu village, whose husband died on February 12, 2014, has been running from one government official to another to get the widow pension, but to no avail.

She said when she enquired about the status of her pension, she was informed that her name was entered in register but could not be processed as it was not updated in computer. Shyam Lal, a resident of Dadupur village, said he had applied for the old-age pension last year, but had not got it yet.