₹2 crore-worth of pension to ‘dead’ recipients: CAG flags lapse in govt scheme

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has tracked down a range of anomalies in the execution of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) – a centrally-sponsored scheme to provide social pensions to elderly, widows and persons with disabilities belonging to the below poverty line (BPL) category.

According to a report, governments in 26 states have paid out pensions to about 2,103 beneficiaries amounting to ₹2 crore even after their death. The study was conducted for the period from 2017 to 2021.

According to the NSAP guidelines, the payment of pension stops after the beneficiaries’ death, migration or if they cross the BPL benchmark. However, the report found that the local bodies in various states have failed to report deaths in a timely manner which led to the over-payment of pensions to people who don’t exist anymore.

Among the 26 states, the highest amount of excess payment to beneficiaries even after death was made in West Bengal followed by Gujarat and Tripura to 453 accounts worth ₹83.27 lakh, 413 worth ₹11.83 lakh and 250 worth ₹1.83 lakh, respectively. Manipur, Mizoram and Puducherry paid the least amount of excess pensions to ‘dead’ beneficiaries.

The CAG study also found that around 13 states paid the pensions to over 2.4 lakh beneficiaries at a lower rate as opposed to the NSAP guidelines, resulting in the short payment of ₹42.85 crore.

Meanwhile, four states – Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir – paid the pension to beneficiaries above the marked limit.

For reference, the NSAP guidelines mention that beneficiaries below 80 years of age, under several sub-schemes – IGNOAPS, IGNWPS and IGNDPS – are to be paid ₹200 and ₹300 monthly. Beneficiaries about 80 years of age will get ₹500 monthly.

About ₹2.83 crore-worth of fund allocated for information, education and communication (IEC) activities under the scheme was diverted for campaigning of other schemes. Similarly, funds to the tune of ₹57.45 crore in six states and Union territories were diverted in for other schemes.

The absence of proactive identification and non-maintenance of database of eligible beneficiaries, non-constitution of special verification teams, non-conduct of annual verification indicated ineffective checks at the ground level for weeding out ineligible beneficiaries, absence of prescribed procedure for proactive identification of beneficiaries along with lack of IEC activities among other reasons were found to be the cause of such anomalies, according to CAG.