The revelation of a financial scam involving nearly 1,500 government employees receiving social security pension meant for the poorest of the poor has come as a huge embarrassment to the Kerala government. Among them were gazetted officers and college professors, some even owning BMWs, receiving a monthly stipend of Rs 1,600. The fraud was detected during an inspection conducted by the Information Kerala Mission, a body which oversees the digitalisation of self-governance institutions in the state. Local body officials who are responsible for verifying pension applications before issuing certificates to genuine beneficiaries had apparently manipulated the records. This particular scheme is meant for those above 60 whose annual income is below Rs 1 lakh a year. Now that this scam has come to light, the Kerala government has promised to punish the guilty but in 2022 a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General had pointed out that 9201 employees had fraudulently received pensions to the tune of Rs 39 crore. No action was taken then.
The Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala claims to provide pension benefits to 62 lakh people but economists have pointed out that the above-60 population in Kerala is only 42 lakh. The Kerala government has been doling out free ration kits and launched various other welfare schemes which to a large extent helped it to come to power for a second term, against the grain of electoral politics in Kerala whose electorate always votes out an incumbent government. However, the several financial crunch plaguing the state has resulted in five-month arrears in clearing pensions. Economists and experts have called out the government for severe fiscal mismanagement. With local body polls and panchayat elections due next year followed by Assembly elections in 2026, the Vijayan government finds itself in a bind.
