Hyderabad: More than 63,000 deceased beneficiaries continued to receive social security pensions in Telangana, with a statewide live verification exercise uncovering nearly 95,000 ineligible beneficiaries so far. The findings have prompted Telangana govt to tighten scrutiny of the Cheyutha pension scheme as it seeks to plug leakages and redirect benefits to genuine beneficiaries.The ongoing live authentication drive, launched after a pilot exercise by the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) flagged large-scale irregularities, has so far covered about 17 lakh of the 19 lakh beneficiaries whose pensions are credited directly into bank accounts through the Core Banking System. Verification of the remaining two lakh beneficiaries is underway.
Officials also found that 27,000 beneficiaries could not be traced despite repeated attempts to contact them through mobile numbers registered with the scheme. Officials are examining whether these beneficiaries have migrated, are untraceable, or whether pensions were being withdrawn fraudulently in their names.The exercise also identified around 5,000 beneficiaries who are now living outside Telangana. Preliminary verification found that some of them are also availing welfare benefits from other states. In addition, about 700 beneficiaries did not cooperate with the live authentication process or showed no interest in continuing to receive the pension.The verification drive has also exposed technical issues affecting thousands of genuine beneficiaries. Around 12,000 cases are pending due to Aadhaar-related problems, while nearly 33,000 beneficiaries faced biometric authentication failures because fingerprints or iris scans could not be matched. Officials said steps are being taken to resolve these issues and ensure eligible beneficiaries are not denied pensions.Across the state, around 42 lakh people receive Cheyutha pensions, of whom nearly 19 lakh are paid through direct bank transfers. The live authentication exercise was introduced after the pilot study indicated significant discrepancies in beneficiary records.Officials said removing fake, duplicate and deceased beneficiaries from the rolls would reduce the burden on the state exchequer and improve transparency in the implementation of welfare schemes.The verification of the remaining two lakh beneficiaries is expected to be completed shortly. At the same time, Telangana govt has begun identifying about two lakh new eligible beneficiaries. Combined with the vacancies created after removing ineligible beneficiaries, around three lakh new beneficiaries are expected to be brought under the pension scheme.
