Kalpetta: Delivering a severe jolt to a huge number of persons in Kerala whose only source of income is the pension, the government has removed over 5.5 lakh social welfare pensioners from the list of beneficiaries.
Official data showed that a total of 39 lakh persons were found eligible for various government pensions, but the reduction in allocations meant only 33.5 lakh people are entitled to pensionary benefits at present.
Already, the authorities have suspended the payment of pension to those ‘ineligible’ persons that include destitute widows, farm laborers, senior citizens, and unwed mothers, who were earlier beneficiaries of different social security pensions.
Most of them learnt that their right to pension was taken away only when they approached the respective panchayat office when they failed to receive the monthly payment.
Officials attributed a number of factors to their exclusion. According to them, they were removed from the list following a verification process undertaken for excluding the ineligible and eliminating the chances of duplicate or multiple payments.
The list of eligible persons was prepared based on data compiled by government agencies such as the Kudumbashree Mission through surveys and after strict scrutiny of affidavits submitted by applicants.
However, there were complaints that the exercise was not carried out properly as many panchayats failed to provide a comprehensive database incorporating all the details available with various welfare agencies and government departments.
Many persons who were away at the time of the survey were excluded from the list for failing to file affidavit, it is learnt.
Mistakes in official documents, such as entry of wrong Aadhaar and bank account numbers were cited as reasons for rejecting the applications. Those who possess more than two acres of land, beneficiaries of the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS), and widows who remarried were also excluded from the latest pension rolls.
Since their applications are recorded as ‘cancelled’, renewal would be a difficult task, sources said.
Officials said that those who have submitted the necessary proof of identity and other appropriate documents that support their applications are entitled to pensions as of now, and the remaining applicants would be included in the list in a time-bound manner after rectifying their personal details.
