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Punjab losing Rs 264-cr on
Shagun, old-age pension schemes
WSN Network
 In
revelations coming from none other than the Punjab Government's
self-appointed State Administrative Reforms Commission, Punjab is
losing Rs 264 crore annually on the skewed implementation of the
Shagun and old-age pension schemes that is being implemented for the
past two years.
The Commission,
headed by Dr Pramod Kumar of the Information and Development Centre
(IDC), a think tank working on the supply side of justice delivery
reforms, said about 40 per cent of the beneficiaries of Shagun and
pension schemes are either fake or nonexistent.
"The government
officials are literally siphoning off about Rs 40 crore every year
from the scheme. Surely this cannot be possible without the explicit
complicity of some unscrupulous interests both within and outside
the government," it adds.
Akali Dal's
Sukhbir Singh Badal, whose brain child the idea of the Commission
was, may tom tom this as his government's efforts at some
transparency and reforms but the fact remains that it has exposed,
even with its conservative estimates, the extent of the rot in
administration.
The Punjab
Government grants Rs 15,000 to each Scheduled Caste family at the
time of a daughter's wedding. Admissible to two daughters in the
family, the scope of the scheme has already been extended to cover
Christians and widows of any caste.
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Akali
Dal's Sukhbir Singh Badal, whose brain child the idea of the
Commission was, may tom tom this as his government's efforts at some
transparency and reforms but the fact remains that it has exposed,
even with its conservative estimates, the extent of the rot in
administration. |
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The SC
population (28.85 per cent), Christians (1.2 per cent) and widows
(1.04 per cent) constitute about 31 per cent of the total population
of the state.
Nearly 23,000
girls from the target families deserve to get covered under the
Shagun Scheme during a year. However, the actual beneficiaries are
very low and districts that get the maximum benefit include
Amritsar,
Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Faridkot and Muktsar.
The panel report
proposes that the "shagun" be disbursed in two parts -- Rs 10,000
before the wedding and Rs 5,000 through the Suvidha Centre or E-gram
at the time of registration of the marriage. The family should file
papers within two months of the marriage. This would also ensure
compliance of the compulsory registration of marriages.
The governance
reforms commission says Punjab also provides Rs 250 per month under
the old-age pension scheme to men above 65 years of age and women
above 60.
However, "by no
rationale nearly 70 per cent of the oldage persons earn less than Rs
33 a day, the eligibility criteria", the report says. "It is also
common knowledge," it points out, "that while about 25 per cent of
the genuinely poor have been left out, one-fourth of the present
beneficiaries are not eligible to receive the pension."
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Make marriage
registration compulsory
In yet another
recommendation, the Punjab Administrative Reforms Commission also
recommended that the entire amount should be recovered if the
marriage was not registered within 60 days of the wedding, a report
in the Indian Express said.
It said the
Commission has also suggested that the Shagun scheme amount be
distributed in two parts for better detection of fraud cases. The
report says that of the total amount, Rs 10,000 be given prior to
the marriage and the remaining Rs 5,000 when the couple gets the
marriage registered with the competent authority. This will ensure
that only genuine beneficiaries, who possess relevant documents,
apply for marriage registration and also avail the second part of
the amount.
As per the
scheme, an SC, Christian or widow, who has an income of not more
than Rs 20,000 if living in rural areas and Rs 27,500 if in urban
areas, can avail of the amount for marriage of a daughter. Between
2006 and 2009, a sum of Rs 192 crore was allocated for the scheme.
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Highlights
* Punjab
provides Rs 250 per month to men above 65, and women above 60.
However, by no rationale nearly 70% of elderly earn less than Rs 33
a day, the eligibility criteria.
* It is common
knowledge that while 25% of genuinely poor have been left out, 1/4
of beneficiaries are not eligible to receive pension.
* Petty politics
at the village level and the connivance of field government
officials, it concludes, have forced these distortions.
* The state
government is suffering financial wastage of over Rs 224 crore
annually through skewed implementation of the old-age pension
scheme.
* The total
beneficiaries are calculated to be 5.63 lakh for which the money
required is Rs 168 crore. However, officials are providing benefit
to 13.07 lakh persons, spending Rs 392 crore.
* The panel
suggests that for both men and women, the qualifying age should be
60.
* The government
should do away with medical certificates and accept voter
identity-card as the proof of age. The applicants may be asked to go
in for self-declaration and self-attestation of their income and
there should be no verification from public officials.
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20
January 2010
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