Pension for disabled: State orders vigilance probe after complaints

At the time of distribution of the first half-yearly installment of the pension for current year,the list of beneficiaries was displayed at the panchayat level.

An official of the District Welfare Office at Barabanki said: “This was perhaps the first time the names were disclosed openly. People got to know who were getting the pension. We have around 80 names in waiting,and as soon as the lists were released we started getting complaints.”

The state government also received complaints and a preliminary probe showed that over two dozen beneficiaries were being given this pension using fraudulent methods and the process had been continuing for the last three years.

Principal Secretary to Chief Minister and Principal Secretary (Disabled Welfare) Shailesh Krishna said: “Apart from complaints that people not disabled were getting pension,we also got complaints stating that the certificates of the beneficiaries did not match their physical disabilities,which proved that there was something fishy.”

Krishna added: “We were also told that there certain documents of the beneficiaries were missing from the district office,so we ordered a vigilance probe.”

Already,the state government has ordered the district magistrates to conduct a physical verification of beneficiaries across the state and stop all pension disbursement till it is complete.

Barabanki District Magistrate Vikas Gothalwal said the physical verification will be over by the end of this month. “We are not just getting the physical verification done according to villages,but are also ordering medical tests in cases where the disability grade in the certificate does not match the actual condition of the person.”

According to rules,any person whose monthly income is less than Rs 1,000 and who has a disability level above 40 per cent,is entitled to a pension of Rs 150 per month which is disbursed in two half-yearly installments.

Every year,the beneficiary has to submit a certificate issued to him by the chief medical officer of the district,to certify his disability.