Elderly woman attends redress camp to prove she is alive

Bala Devi, a resident of Dhanana village, appeared before the district administration at a Samadhan Shivir to prove that she was alive, after being wrongly marked as deceased in the Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) records.

Despite submitting affidavits twice to the tehsildar concerned, confirming that she was alive, her social security pension had not been resumed. She complained about it to the authorities at the camp being chaired by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Munish Nagpal yesterday.

The ADC said her PPP had now been updated, and an investigation was underway to determine how she was declared dead in official records.

Devi said it had caused her to lose access to pension benefits. The ADC directed officials to rectify the error without delay.

Speaking to "The Tribune", he said an inquiry had been initiated to understand the circumstances under which her name was struck off. “Data can only be updated on submission of a death certificate or a declaration by the family. It will be investigated whether a Common Service Centre (CSC) operator entered incorrect data or tampered with the system, leading to her name being removed,” he said, adding that strict action would be taken in this regard.

District spokesperson Surender Singhal confirmed that the issue had been resolved and her PPP had been updated.

The case is part of a wider pattern of irregularities being uncovered in the PPP database. The authorities have found instances where individuals manipulated the portal to gain unfair access to government welfare schemes. Some ineligible families have reportedly been declared below the poverty line (BPL) to receive undeserved benefits. Recently, the Jhajjar police arrested seven individuals in connection with such fraudulent activities.