The financial mismanagement of the government on social welfare schemes is clear as daylight. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s report has hit the nail on its head. The loss to the State on account of the creamy layer getting social welfare benefits is pegged at a whopping Rs 40.34 crore.
And then, there are cases of double beneficiaries where individuals have availed of benefits under two or more schemes despite the stipulation. Also on the list are 5227 persons availing pension even before they attained the qualifying age of 60 years. Around 6,223 senior citizens, 3,327 single women and 1162 differently-abled Goans got benefits although they had an annual income greater than Rs 24,000.
An earlier survey in 2012 conducted by Pune-based CPR agency had also revealed that there were thousands of fake beneficiaries who manipulated the annual income figures to make up to the Rs 12,000 per annum criteria. And there were hundreds of government officials found to be availing of benefits. A few years later in 2016, the CAG report brought on record a total of 9,000 fake cases. It was only last year that the government in a major scrutiny found that there were around 25,000 fake beneficiaries and around 127 of its own employees were found to be enrolled.
It’s a pity that the government which boasts about its populist social welfare schemes like DSSS, Griha Aadhaar and Ladli Laxmi failed to put efficacious checks and balances in place. When we are talking of taking a quantum jump in technology, leave aside the false starts, we still rely on a highly porous system that has failed to detect huge financial leaks.
The government has threatened action against banks for not giving information about unused funds in accounts, but it has failed to initiate recovery proceedings against those who cheated for years together, including its own employees. There are warnings of criminal proceedings against rogue beneficiaries who have willfully suppressed or disseminated false information. But, we have been hearing this for over six years now. The only recovery the government is talking about is what is saved in terms of plugging its own loopholes.
The designated officials entrusted with documentation and verification of data have shown utter disregard to paperwork and there are cases where even basic eligibility checks have been ignored. So when the Chief Minister says on the floor of the house that a disgruntled neighbour tells the on-field verifying authority that the person next door has passed away, it actually goes on record that the person is no more. How insane this system could be where crucial piece of information which is sourced from unreliable sources is documented.
If the government is serious in weeding out all fraudulent beneficiaries, the first step would be to put a robust multi-layered system in place. Secondly, there need to be a periodic audit and review of schemes. Rules mandate a review every three years, and the government has held a review of DSSS beneficiaries only twice since the launch of the scheme in January 2002. There are thousands of cases which still remain in the ‘doubtful’ category across all social welfare schemes.
However, there are lakhs of senior citizens who are genuine beneficiaries and are relying on this dole to meet their day-to-day expenses. Don’t make them run from pillar to post for no fault of theirs. It’s time the government gets its act together.
