Shagun scheme paused
Thursday, 05/04/2012
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120405/punjab.htm#8
Welfare officials detect fake beneficiaries
A whopping sum of Rs 40 crore is yet to be disbursed among thousands of persons under the shagun scheme for the fiscal years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 with the Welfare Department detecting fake beneficiaries from among 72,000 identified by various districts after the scheme went online.
Even genuine beneficiaries, who were married two years ago, have yet to get money. The department had disbursed Rs 52 crore among 34,480 beneficiaries last fiscal year through online payment. The government has released money for the 72,000 identified beneficiaries but the Deputy Commissioners of 20 districts are yet to get back to the department to prove that they are genuine cases. Though the Director, Welfare, HS Nanda, has sent several reminders to the Deputy Commissioners of all the 22 districts, only those of Moga and Patiala have submitted a verified list of beneficiaries.
Sources in the department said they stopped providing shagun after they detected that a number of girls who appeared in the list of beneficiaries but did not exist. "We suspect that only 50 per cent of the listed beneficiaries are genuine," said a senior functionary.
For instance, in the list provided by the Amritsar district authorities, there was no mention of the postal address of several beneficiaries, he said. Nanda said there was a possibility of 20 to 30 per cent beneficiaries being fake.
"But we cannot say anything till we receive reports from all DCs. We need bank account numbers and other information to pay the beneficiaries," he said.
He said online disbursement had eliminated the possibility of the money going into wrong hands.
Under the much-publicised scheme of the government, two daughters of Dalit couples and those belonging to economically weaker sections are given Rs 15,000 each at the time of their wedding.
