The multi-crore scam in Maharashtra in which funds meant for welfare of the poor including destitute senior citizens, widows left to fend for themselves and others in need of financial help to survive, were misappropriated could have been prevented if there had been no negligence at almost every level of the government. Two days after The Indian Express first reported on how a cartel of politicians, government officials, village chiefs and private agents used bogus age certificates and fake income certificates to allow thousands of “non-beneficiaries” to benefit from welfare schemes to pocket the taxpayers’ money, it has emerged that despite several complaints, little action was taken. In a series of reports, this paper has been highlighting how fake certificates had allowed money to be drawn even in names of some people who were dead, in Western Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, which had the highest number of beneficiaries. All this allegedly for electoral gain. Sources now reveal that the social justice and special assistance department did not act on complaints of alleged corruption in welfare schemes. A financial assistance of Rs 600-Rs 900 a month is extended to destitute senior citizens, divorced and abandoned women, women freed from prostitution, differently-abled persons under various welfare schemes such as the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Anudan Yojana, the Shravan Bal Seva Nivrutti Vetan Yojana, the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, the Indira Gandhi National Handicapped Pension Scheme, and the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme. To be eligible, an applicant’s annual family income must not exceed Rs 21,000. In March 2013, a proposal to strike out names of hundreds of “illegal” beneficiaries from the list in Kolhapur was considered at the departmental level, sources said. The local office of the collector reportedly initiated action in these cases. It was then that the matter was referred to the department. Sources confirmed that further action was deferred but Principal Secretary (Social Justice and Special Assistance Minister) R D Shinde said he was unaware of any such complaint. Ironically, the highest number of complaints was from Kagal taluka, represented by the then Special Assistance Minister Hasan Mushrif. Mushrif, when contacted, refuted the allegations against him. Following the expose, the government has undertaken a drive to identify bogus cases and take action. Special teams have been deputed to undertake the drive in Kolhapur. In 2009-10, the Kolhapur tahsildar had undertaken a similar initiative.
