CAG has criticised the Department of Women and Child Development for allowing 751 persons ineligible for withdrawing old age pension to do so under one of its scheme.
Chief Minister N Rangasamy had tabled a copy of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report in the Assembly yesterday.
CAG said the scheme to give aid to old age persons,widows, deserted or unmarried women and eunuchs stipulated among other things that beneficiaries should be 55 years old and annual income be less than Rs 24,000.
Of 18,839 old age pension cases sanctioned in 2008-10 checks (Oct-Dec 2010) of 8,000 showed it had been done based on the age in the ration card photocopy and that 751 applicants had altered their age in the photocopies.
The director of women and child department had sanctioned pension without verifying originals, though there was a specific note in ration cards that details in it should not be taken as proof for availing benefits, it said.
The CAG Report said payment of Rs 1.03 crore from August 2008 to March 2011 to 751 ineligible persons was inadmissible.
It also said Rs 20 lakh was sanctioned as old age pension between Aug 2008-Mar 2011 to 146 persons of Above Poverty Line families based on bogus details. They included 19 government servants and 23 pensioners whose annual income exceeded Rs 24,000 per annum.
It was pointed out government stated that based on Audit observation and after further examination payment of pension to 1,426 ineligible beneficiaries was stopped from Apr 2011. Of them 685 pensioners were deleted from the beneficiaries list and for the remaining 741 cases pension was temporarily
stopped, pending verification of original documents.
It said the department’s reply was silent on recovery of pension from other ineligible beneficiaries and action against them for deliberately furnishing wrong or false information.
On revenue arrears, it said arrears pending for collection as on March 31, 2011 under principal heads of revenue by various departments was Rs 425.03 crore.
Of the arrears pending for collection by Commercial Taxes department Rs 142.08 crore and Rs 1.54 crore were covered by court cases and Revenue Recovery proceedings.