In a significant move, the Odisha government has initiated a proactive campaign to identify and eliminate ghost beneficiaries who have been receiving benefits under the social security pension scheme. Bishnupada Sethi, the principal secretary of the Department of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD), has issued directives to all district collectors to address this pressing issue, as revealed in letters sent on November 3.
The focus of this drive is to detect and rectify ghost beneficiaries within the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY) and the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). Bishnupada Sethi expressed concerns about improper reporting of death cases, which has led to funds being credited to individuals who no longer exist. He emphasized the critical importance of promptly reporting death cases and swiftly filling the resulting vacancies to ensure that deserving beneficiaries receive their entitled support without interruption.
To achieve this, Sethi has instructed the block development officers (BDOs) to conduct a monthly review of the pension allocations. In cases where a beneficiary has passed away, the pension should be canceled, and a new eligible beneficiary must be promptly enrolled in the scheme to maintain a vacancy rate of zero.
During the review for October 2023, it was revealed that there were 12,405 vacancies under MBPY and 6,614 vacancies under NSAP. Additionally, the pension payments for 41,046 NSAP beneficiaries could not be processed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), and the reasons for this delay remained unknown. Sethi pointed out that although online applications had been verified and were pending approval with the district administrations, the vacant positions were not being filled, which was a cause for concern.
In response to these findings, Bishnupada Sethi has called upon district administrations to take proactive measures to identify and fill the vacant positions as quickly as possible. This will ensure that eligible applicants who have been awaiting support are accommodated without further delay. Collectors have been given clear instructions to diligently scrutinize and verify pension recipients while taking immediate steps to eliminate ghost beneficiaries from both pension schemes. This move underscores the government’s commitment to delivering social security benefits to the rightful recipients and ensuring the integrity of the system.
Prasanta Patnaik 
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