Karnataka govt weeds out 5 lakh dead pensioners, saves Rs 600 crore

About 5 lakh beneficiaries of pension schemes who were dead, but continued to draw pension have been removed from the list of beneficiaries over the last one year.

The directorate of social security and pensions disburses pension to about 66.4 lakh persons under 13 different schemes, including Sandhya Suraksha, pension for old age persons, to destitute, widows of farmers who killed themselves and the physically challenged.

Principal secretary of revenue department Manjunatha Prasad told DH that they felt the need for a thorough check after the department couldn’t get acknowledgement of receipt of pensions from many beneficiaries.

The department has initiated the process of shifting payment for 30 lakh pensioners from postal money order to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.

During his previous stint in the department, Prasad had initiated the process of weeding out deceased beneficiaries.

“Once we started linking the beneficiaries with the Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts, things started falling into place. Now, the village accountant visits each house, takes photo of the pensioner and uploads it on our platform,” he said.

Officials said that the yearly renewal of the pension scheme has been made easy for pensioners as they get the process done at the doorstep.

At the same time, the process helps in ground-level verification that the pensioner is alive.

“Beneficiaries get anywhere from Rs 600 to Rs 4,000 per month depending on the scheme, their age and condition.

The government had a hard time tracking the pensioners until the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme came into effect, officials said.

G Prabhu, director of social security and pensions, told DH that the directorate was able to weed out 5 lakh deceased persons from the list of beneficiaries.

“It has saved about Rs 600 crore to the department,” Prabhu said.

He said the department is focused on sanctioning the benefit to a person without them asking for it.

“Under the DBT, one doesn’t have to submit an age certificate to claim a higher amount of pension under the scheme. For example, a beneficiary gets Rs 600 between 60 and 65 years of age. The same goes up to Rs 1,000 after he completes 65 years. Now, the software automatically recognises the individual’s eligibility and increases the amount,” he added.

The directorate has an annual budget of Rs 8,200 crore, aimed at helping the poor and the aged persons. The Finance Department has been working closely with the revenue department to shift the entire pension system to DBT.