Thiruvananthapuram: As part of the action initiated by the Kerala government against employees who unlawfully received social security pensions, six officers from the Soil Conservation Department have been suspended. It was earlier discovered that as many as 1,458 government employees in Kerala are unlawfully receiving social security pensions.

Those suspended are identified as Sajitha K A, grade-2 attender, District Soil Conservation Office, Kasaragod; Sheejakumari G, part-time sweeper, Soil Conservation Office, Pathanamthitta; Naseed Mubarak, works superintendent, Soil Conservation Office, Vadakara; Bhargavi P, part-time sweeper, Soil Conservation Office, Meenangadi; Leela K, part-time sweeper, Assistant Director’s Office, Soil Survey and Conservation, Meenangadi; and Rajani J, part-time sweeper, Central Soil Analytical Lab, Thiruvananthapuram.

Earlier, the Finance Department had shared details of employees illegally claiming welfare pensions with the Agriculture Department. Following this, a meeting was convened in which officials including the Agricultural Development Commission participated and identified these six officers from the Soil Conservation Department for illegally claiming pensions. Based on this finding, it was decided to suspend them. The directive for suspension was issued by director of the Soil Survey and Conservation Department Saju K Surendran.

The government has also decided to recover the misappropriated pension amounts from the employees, along with an 18% interest. Currently, such action has only been taken within the Agriculture Department. Previously, the release of a list by the Finance Department had led to criticism over the lack of action against the implicated employees.

Agriculture Minister P Prasad stated that this was unlikely to have been a mistake. “The social security pension is meant for the most vulnerable sections of society. If it were a mistake, that would be understandable. However, this doesn’t appear to be an error. The amount must be repaid, and further action will follow. An investigation into how this happened is necessary, and a thorough probe is required,” the Minister said.

The Finance Department, after identifying the irregularities, had shared the details of the employees concerned with all departments. It had also instructed the Agriculture and Soil Conservation Departments to investigate the matter and take appropriate action. Both departments conducted inquiries and implemented further measures. And action was taken against the employees involved, the Minister added.