This shocking revelation from Kottakkal Municipality in Malappuram district has prompted State Finance Minister K N Balagopal to instruct officials to expand the scope of such audits statewide and ensure the removal of all ineligible persons from the beneficiary lists, official sources said here on Friday.
The findings come amidst widespread public outrage in Kerala following reports that nearly 1,500 government employees, including gazetted officers and college professors, had fraudulently claimed social security pensions.
Sources from the Finance Ministry said that all local self-governing bodies will be instructed to regularly evaluate the eligibility of welfare pension beneficiaries receiving payments through bank accounts.
Taking a tough stand on the Kottackal incident, the finance minister on Friday ordered a vigilance inquiry into officials who allegedly included such affluent individuals in the beneficiary list of the social security pension scheme intended for the poor.
“The finance minister’s directive calls for vigilance investigations against officials who conducted eligibility verifications, revenue officials who issued income certificates, and those who approved pensions. The Finance Department has also instructed administrative departments to promptly report follow-up actions,” a source said.
The vigilance and anti-corruption bureau investigation follows an earlier probe by the Malappuram Finance Audit Department into pension beneficiaries in the 7th ward of Kottakkal Municipality.
“Out of 42 beneficiaries examined, 38 were found ineligible, and one was deceased,” the source said.
According to officials, the audit revealed shocking cases of ineligible persons, including owners of BMW cars being listed as pension recipients.
“Some welfare pensioners reportedly live in houses equipped with luxuries such as air conditioners. There were also instances where spouses of government service pensioners were drawing welfare pensions,” an official said.
Many of the ineligible beneficiaries were found to reside in houses larger than 2,000 square feet in area.
The Finance Department suspects corruption and collusion behind the large-scale inclusion of ineligible beneficiaries in the pension list of a single ward.
As a result, the government has decided to scrutinise the eligibility of all social security pension beneficiaries in Kottakkal Municipality. The Local Self-Government Department has been tasked with instructing the municipality accordingly.
Earlier, an inspection conducted by the Information Kerala Mission, which envisages computerisation and networking of local self-government institutions in Kerala, had found 1,458 government employees in the state are receiving social security pensions. This prompted Finance Minister Balagopal to order stringent disciplinary action against the errant officials.
The Kerala government has outlined strict eligibility criteria for various welfare pension schemes to ensure they benefit only the truly deserving.
The general criteria for availing such pensions include that applicants must have an annual family income below Rs 1 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.
