Vijayawada: In a move to weed out ineligible welfare pension beneficiaries, the state govt has decided to take up verification of beneficiary credentials on pilot basis.
The scrutiny will be held for two days from Monday across the state. Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) commissioner Veerapandian has asked district collectors and municipal commissioners to take up the exercise by deploying special teams.
The state govt has designed a special mobile application for uploading data pertaining to the beneficiaries to identify the ineligible. The pilot project will be taken up in one of the village/ward secretariat limits in each village and town across the state. The data analysis will be done on Wednesday after completion of the random verification.
The documents required for collection has been issued by the SERP. The state govt has decided to go for scrutiny of the beneficiaries following widespread allegations that several thousands of YSRCP activists secured welfare pensions without following the prescribed rules.
The govt set certain rules for grant of pensions to different sections of people including old age people, physically challenged and people belongs to the third gender. The govt has increased the old age pension amount to Rs.4000 per month from the previous Rs.3000 and Rs.6000 to the physically challenged.
The govt has been granting Rs.10000 special pension for the people undergoing dialysis and critically ill (bedridden) following the recommendation of the district medical and health officers.
The govt received several complaints about YSRCP activists drawing pensions under physically challenged quota by securing fake certificates from the govt doctors during the previous regime.
The govt has also decided to send suspected cases of physically challenged for reverification of their disability. Sources said that majority of those secured pensions under physically disabled secured certificates under hearing and vision disability.
The state govt decided to cleanse the beneficiaries lists by completion of verification of beneficiaries’ credentials before granting the new pensions in January.
