Welfare pension fraud: Disciplinary action taken against only 122 people

Thiruvananthapuram: A total of 1458 government employees have been found to have received social security pensions illegally, according to the Finance Department’s findings. However, despite clear instructions to recover the amount and take disciplinary action, only 122 employees have faced departmental penalties so far, raising concerns over the slow response from various departments.

The Finance Department had issued directives weeks ago for the immediate recovery of the illegally received pensions, with 18 percent interest, and for disciplinary action against the responsible employees. However, many departments have yet to take effective action. Employees from the Revenue, Survey, Animal Husbandry, Soil Exploration and Dairy Development departments have been suspended, but the pace remains slow across the board.

The Health Department, which identified 373 employees who had received the pensions inappropriately, is yet to take any suspension action despite being instructed to recover the funds with interest.

The government estimates a loss of Rs 2.7 crore due to the illegal disbursement of the monthly pension amount of Rs 1,600 to these employees.