CAG report finds financial irregularities in Jharkhand

Ranchi: Gross irregularities and illegal transfer of crores of rupees were detected in the performance audit of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in scholarship and pension schemes in Jharkhand, according to a CAG report tabled in the state assembly on Thursday.

Fraudulent disbursement of scholarships to ghost or fake beneficiaries amounting to Rs 1.17 cr, instances of providing pensions to deceased persons and widow pensions to male beneficiaries were found during the audit, the report said.

"Considering the objectives and relative impact of DBT in social security and scholarship schemes, a performance audit of DBT in Jharkhand from 2017 and 2021 was conducted between November 2021 and May 2022. Huge financial irregularities were found in the audit," Accountant General (Audit), Jharkhand, Anup Francis Dungdung said in a press conference here.

He said that the audit was conducted in six sample districts of Chatra, Hazaribag, East Singhbhum, Godda, Palamu and Ranchi.

"The audit was conducted in limited districts. Irregularities could be much higher if all districts are taken into consideration," he said.

Implementation of scholarship schemes for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, backward and minority communities, social security pension scheme and effectiveness of 'e-Kalyan Jharkhand', a scheme-specific information technology platform used for DBT transfer, were audited in the six sample districts.

"Instances of fraudulent disbursement of minority scholarships to fake or ghost beneficiaries were detected. It was noticed that in four of the six test-checked districts, 1,482 ghost or fake beneficiaries from 14 schools or institutes were awarded scholarships amounting to Rs 1.17 crore. These institutes were neither registered on the National Scholarship Portal nor had obtained user credentials for logging on to the portal," the report said.

In social security pensions, it was found that they were not approved within the prescribed time frame as there were delays in approvals up to 864 days in 39 per cent of the test-checked applications, the report stated.

It also mentioned that in Ghatshila of East Singhbhum district, names of 84 beneficiaries were either not excluded or excluded with a delay of up to 65 months, which resulted in the disbursal of pension amounting to Rs 8.5 lakh to the deceased persons.

Similarly, in four blocks of two districts -- East Singhbhum and Godda -- pension amounting to Rs 9.54 lakh was disbursed to 16 male beneficiaries under the widow pension scheme, it stated.

The CAG report suggested the Jharkhand government to keep an electronic database of all eligible beneficiaries in the state for universal and realistic budget preparations.

It said the government may initiate investigations to verify the financial irregularities and conduct social audits at prescribed intervals to ensure adequate monitoring of schemes.