Thiruvananthapuram: The State Finance Department will soon identify the culprits in welfare pension misappropriation, said Finance Minister KN Balagopal. The department has initiated an investigation against those who fraudulently received welfare pensions, the minister said. Government action will be taken against those found guilty once the inquiry is completed. 

However, the names of those who have received pension will not be disclosed. The department clarified that an investigation team has been appointed to identify ineligible individuals who managed to get listed as beneficiaries.

Despite being ineligible to receive welfare pensions, as they are government salary recipients, it was found during the probe that several officials, including gazetted officers, had received pensions under the state government's prestigious social security scheme. The investigation conducted by Information Kerala Mission, following the Finance Department's directive, uncovered that 1,458 government employees were receiving welfare pensions.

The list includes two assistant professors from a government college and three higher secondary school teachers. Most of the individuals identified are still in service. Minister K.N. Balagopal has directed strict action against the culprits and the recovery of the misappropriated pension amounts along with interest.

The Health Department tops the list with 373 employees receiving welfare pensions, followed by the Public Education Department with 224 employees.

The discrepancy was uncovered when data from the software managing the pension lists was cross-referenced with SPARK, the software used for government salary disbursement. The Finance Department has decided to continue with multi-level investigations.

How it happened

The majority of those involved are lower-grade and clerical staff. It is assumed that individuals who previously received pensions before joining government service or securing permanent positions continued to remain on the beneficiary list, leading to the fraud. Errors in beneficiary enrollment at the panchayat level could also have contributed to the issue.

 Monthly Loss: ₹23 Lakhs

The current welfare pension amount is ₹1,600 per month. The government incurs a monthly loss of approximately ₹23 lakhs due to 1,458 ineligible recipients.

Welfare pensions are categorized into five types:

  1. Old Age Pension

  2. Farmers' Pension

  3. Disability Pension

  4. Widow Pension

  5. Unmarried Women’s Pension

Among these, the Disability and Widow Pensions have no age restrictions. Unmarried women above 50 can apply for pensions, while those aged 60 and above can apply for Old Age and Farmers' Pensions.