Author: Muzamil Jaleel
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: January 13, 2003
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=16573
For years, the Jammu and Kashmir
government has been paying crores of rupees as monthly assistance to over
one lakh of its needy - all registered as physically challenged, old or
widowed. But now it seems that most of that money has been going down the
drain, as over 30 per cent of the names exist only on paper.
The scam was unearthed when the
Social Welfare Department decided to change the normal practice of sending
cash payments - amounting to about Rs 1.5 crore per month - to the 1.08
lakh beneficiaries of this welfare scheme and start sending money orders
instead. So the monthly aid for November 2002 was sent by money order.
''More than 30 to 35 per cent of
the money orders were returned because the names did not exist,'' said
J-K Social Welfare Minister Mulla Ram. ''We are investigating the matter.
I have asked the department to verify the antecedents of all the beneficiaries
before we take any further action,'' he told The Indian Express.
The disbursment of money orders
was first started in the physically challenged segment. ''Earlier, we were
paying Rs 75 to the aged and widows and Rs 150 to the physically handicapped
every month. Then, we decided to increase the sum to Rs 200 and Rs 300,
respectively,'' said Ram. ''We thought it was better to pay through money
orders. This is how we stepped on these fake cases.'' The minister also
drew attention to the disparity in the distribution of the aid. ''There
are a few constituencies, represented by ministers and influential legislators
of the previous government, where the number of the beneficiaries is in
thousands while others had just a few hundred,'' he alleged.
This social welfare scheme is primarily
aimed at providing sustenance to the most distressed sections of society.
''This scheme has been going on for years now,'' said Feroz Ahmad, Director,
Social Welfare Department. ''I also came across reports that money orders
were being returned. So, I have constituted a probe committee, engaging
officers of the department who are not linked to this scheme,'' he added.
According to Ahmad, the government
had constructed a foolproof mechanism to identify those who would benefit
from this scheme. Obviously, it wasn't so foolproof. ''There is a board
at the district level, chaired by the deputy commissioner, with our district
social welfare officer as its member secretary. There are one or two public
representatives who are local legislators from that district. They identify
the people, after which our tehsil-level officers do the physical verification,''
he said. ''The power to identify the beneficiaries and the disbursement
of money rests with the deputy commissioners. We have to see what has gone
wrong and where,''he added.
Other sources in the welfare dartment
were more forthcoming. ''It is impossible that the district boards would
not know about this scam. Such siphoning of funds is only possible because
of the connivance of the officers of the welfare department as well as
those legislators who are part of the board,'' alleged a senior social
welfare officer.
