INDIA: In Rajasthan, dead claiming pensions

NEW DELHI (The Times of India), June 12, 2008: By Avijit Ghosh, Times News Network The death certificate says that Mangi Devi passed away in September 2006. But the postal department records show that till March 2008, pension was being claimed in her name. Mangi's isn't an isolated case. In Sangawas panchayat of Rajasthan's Rajsamand district, old age pension was being claimed on behalf of 41 people who died from six months to five years ago. A survey conducted last month by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, a community-based organization, brought out glaring irregularities in the disbursal of the social security pension in Sangawas and Vijaypura panchayats of the south Rajasthan district. A public hearing organized to highlight the wrongdoing also showed that disbursal of pension to genuine claimants was often delayed by a shocking six to eight months. That too after the postman had taken a cut. In Sangawas, ironically, there was also a case of two pensions being claimed on behalf of one person. According to a 2001 Supreme Court order in the right to food case, pension payment should be made by the seventh of every month. But in the two panchayats under scrutiny, payments were regularly delayed. A door-to-door survey also showed that the postman disbursing the pension was taking a cut from every recipient. He also took money from trusting pensioners promising to deposit the amount to postal savings account. But he neither issued receipts nor opened the accounts. Even recurring deposits that had matured were not being paid out to the depositors. Instead, he pocketed the money. Some cases are plain bizarre. For instance, Pannu of Panto Ki Aanti village used to get old age pension. But the local postman sent a report to IPO that she was dead. Consequently, the pension was stopped. The truth is she is still alive. Speaking on phone, Anand Kumar, district collector, Rajsamand, said that an SDM enquiry was being conducted. "We are verifying the list of those who receive pension. This will stop such irregularities in future. As for those who have claimed money on behalf of dead people, we will first recover the money from them, then file the FIRs." S R Meena, director of postal services, Ajmer, said that appropriate action will be taken against the errant officials. "We are also trying to inform people in rural areas not to give cash to any postal employee without a proper receipt," he said. An extremely vulnerable section of the population depends on social security pension. "Our duty is to ensure they get it on time," says Nikhil Dey of MKSS. According to Dey, there is a need to reform the pension payment system, introduce transparency and accountability and provide better co-ordination between the postal department, the treasury office, the BDO and the panchayat. He also felt there was a need to conduct such investigation across the country. "We must find out whether such malpractices is happening in panchayats across the country or not." avijit.ghosh@timesgroup.com Copyright © 2008 Times Internet Ltd.