₹41.22 crore recovered from 1 lakh ineligible pensioners last fiscal

Among the ineligible beneficiaries are 1,06,521 death cases, 476 NRIs and 574 government pensioners, says Punjab social security minister Dr Baljit Kaur.

As many as 1,07,571 beneficiaries out of the 33,48,989, who received pensions under state scheme during last fiscal (2023-24), have been found ineligible in a survey conducted by the department of social security, women and child development. A recovery of ₹41.22 crore has been made from them, social security minister Dr Baljit Kaur said on Thursday. She informed that among the ineligible beneficiaries were 1,06,521 death cases, 476 NRIs and 574 government pensioners.

She elaborated that ₹3.50 crore was recovered from 5,375 beneficiaries in Amritsar district, ₹1.77 crore from 3,402 in Barnala, ₹1.08 crore from 16,099 in Bathinda, ₹95 lakh from 2,546 in Faridkot, ₹61 lakh from 3,049 in Fatehgarh Sahib, ₹48 lakh from 4,018 in Ferozepur, ₹80 lakh from 4,965 in Fazilka, ₹7.88 crore from 7,738 in Gurdaspur, ₹1.74 crore from 5,838 in Hoshiarpur and ₹1.41 crore was recovered from 6,404 beneficiaries in Jalandhar.

She further informed that ₹1.61 crore had been recovered from 4,034 beneficiaries in Kapurthala, ₹1.77 crore from 6,993 in Ludhiana, ₹82 lakh from 4,329 in Mansa, ₹1 crore from 1,721 in Moga, ₹78 lakh from 5,489 in Muktsar, ₹63 lakh from 4,043 in SBS Nagar, ₹2.75 crore from 1,480 in Pathankot and ₹2.78 crore from 7,201 in Patiala. Besides, recoveries were made in Rupnagar, Sangrur, SAS Nagar and Tarn Taran districts as well.

Additionally, the minister mentioned that 3,797 ineligible beneficiaries were found in April of the current financial year 2024-25. ₹3.12 crore was recovered from them.

In total, ₹44.34 crore has been recovered from various ineligible beneficiaries under the state pension scheme.

Providing further details, the minister stated that the department has been paying a pension of ₹1,500 per month to elderly, widows, dependent children and persons with disabilities directly into their bank accounts.

She added that under the state pension scheme, a budget provision of ₹5,924.50 crore has been made by the state government for the financial year 2024-25. Up to May 2024, ₹1,501.17 crore has been spent by the government on the pensions of beneficiaries, with the monthly expenditure for pension schemes around ₹502 crore.

Read more news like this on HindustanTimes.com