In large-scale discrepancies unearthed in the distribution of benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi in UP, close to 7.8 lakh ‘ineligible’ Jan Dhan accounts were found to be receiving Rs 6,000 each in the state. Of these, 2.3 lakh were found to be businessmen, traders and other professionals who are taxpayers. Most surprisingly, over 32,000 of these beneficiaries are already dead.
The irregularities — which surfaced during cross-checking of the online system — have prompted a joint team of the agriculture and revenue departments to verify the beneficiaries across UP’s 75 districts. Girish Chand, deputy director, agriculture department, Bijnor, told TOI, “Around 7.79 lakh ineligible beneficiaries were found to be receiving the funds. Their bank accounts were linked with Aadhaar and PAN cards, which helped us trace them.” He added that there is a provision to recover the government assistance if it is transferred into the accounts of ineligible people.
Vivek Kumar Singh, director, agriculture, UP, said, “Reverification of beneficiaries is being done. Recovery will be made from those who received the assistance by mistake or by forging documents.”
In Bijnor, there are 12,000 such accounts. There are 20,600 ineligible beneficiaries in Saharanpur, 12,500 in Muzaffarnagar and 9,000 in Meerut.