77 beneficiaries in CM’s village fail to meet criteria
Monday, 01/06/2015
http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/
Muktsar : The verification of old-age pensioners, which has unfolded a scam of over Rs 33.52 lakh per month in Muktsar district, has showed that even Badal – the native village of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal — is not an exception to it.
In Badal village, 77 beneficiaries have been found who either do not fulfill the age criteria or are absent/not traceable or have died.
Of the total 297 pensioners in Badal village, 220 have been found eligible after the verification. Similarly, in other villages of senior SAD leaders like Middukhera and
Koliawnali, the situation is the same.
In Middukhera village, 38 beneficiaries have been detected ineligible. Of the total 195 old age pensioners, 157 remained in the list of beneficiaries.
In Kolianwali village, 56 beneficiaries have been found ineligible. Of the total 176 beneficiaries, 120 have been found eligible to avail the benefit of the scheme.
Notably, the populist schemes of the state government had helped the SAD-BJP alliance to come back to power consecutively for the second term in 2012.
Under the old-age pension scheme, the state government gives Rs 250 per month to the beneficiary. As per the records, of the total 52,782 old age pensioners in the district, 39,372 have been found eligible and the remaining 13,410 have been declared ineligible.
In Lambi block, which is the home constituency of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, as many as 2,867 fake beneficiaries have been detected.
In the past too, some ineligible beneficiaries were found, but hardly any action was taken against the beneficiary or the officials concerned who failed to keep a check on this illegal practice which caused a huge loss to the state’s exchequer. Naresh Kumar, District Social Security Officer, Muktsar, said, “We have informed the higher ups about the number of total beneficiaries declared ineligible after the verification.”
