Puducherry Social Welfare Department has found that 60% of beneficiaries in the village were faking their claim and hence the department stopped dispensing widow pension, said Lt Governor Kiran Bedi. A complaint was registered by a person stating that some ineligible women in a particular village are receiving widow pension, Bedi directed the Social Welfare Department to conduct an inquiry.
“The whistleblower even gave the names of such women and households”, said Bedi who did not disclose the name of the village. “On cross-checking, social welfare secretary Uday Kumar reported via a virtual meeting that 60 per cent of the households verified were found to be faking their eligibility. They were claiming the pension for a long time falsely”, said Bedi.
The governor further added, While their pensions have been stopped forthwith, sending recovery notices are being considered after checking the records for how long they have been receiving such a pension. ( approx Rs 2000 per month). The person in his petition has also mentioned about the protection of “influential persons” for this kind of deception. The petition had given specific names of the women. Hence it was easy to go to those houses directly, she said.
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