The Kerala government has decided to take strict action against government employees who have illegally availed of social welfare pensions. The decision was made during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday.
Photo: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
The Kerala government has decided to take strict action against government employees who have illegally availed of social welfare pensions. The decision was made during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday.
As per the decision, the Finance Department will recover the full amount disbursed to ineligible individuals, along with interest. Disciplinary action will also be initiated at the departmental level against those found guilty of receiving pensions illegally.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan emphasized that the government would adopt a zero-tolerance approach in addressing the misuse of welfare funds.
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The meeting was attended by Finance Minister KN Balagopal, Chief Secretary Sharada Muralidharan, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Dr A Jayathilak, Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister KM Abraham, Principal Director of the Local Self-Government Department V Sambasivarao, and IKM Executive Director Dr. Santosh Babu.
Earlier on Saturday, Finance Minister KN Balagopal revealed that 1,458 government employees, including gazetted officers, assistant professors, and higher secondary teachers, were identified as illegal pension recipients.
He stated that appropriate disciplinary actions would be decided by the respective departments and, if necessary, criminal cases would be filed after investigations. Further inspections are underway to identify additional ineligible beneficiaries.
The Health Department topped the list with 373 illegal beneficiaries. The list also includes two assistant professors from government colleges in Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad, and three higher secondary teachers.
The illegal beneficiaries were identified by the Information Kerala Mission (IKM) under the instructions of the Finance Department. The state has reiterated its commitment to conducting thorough checks to ensure that welfare pensions are distributed only to eligible individuals.
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