It is shocking to find that more than seven lakh people are ineligible for the social security pension scheme, which was supposed to be a relief to the most vulnerable sections of society. 1344 crore rupees had to be given to them in a year from the government treasury. For a government reeling under financial pressure, this is certainly a big number. During the inspections conducted to find out the ineligible ones among the welfare pensioners, more than seven lakh people were found to be receiving pensions illegally.

As the largest welfare scheme of the government, the social pension scheme of Kerala had attracted a lot of attention in the country. Around fifty lakh people are beneficiaries in this scheme introduced for the poor, who do not have an income of even Rs 1 lakh per year. It has already been alleged that many people are taking pensions against the norms but the reality is that the government is not yet ready to conduct any significant inspections due to political reasons. Mustering of beneficiaries and submission of accurate income certificates were made mandatory when it was realized that there was a huge drain on the exchequer, and the intended result was achieved as well. More than seven lakh people did not come forward to provide the necessary documents. It means that so many people were receiving pensions undeservedly. The state government has to spend Rs 10,764 crore in a year just to provide welfare pensions.

The task of determining eligibility for Social Security pensions was delegated to local bodies, leading to hundreds of thousands of ineligible people making their way to the list. Many of the ward members 'used' this pension scheme to prove their influence among the people. Relatives, patrons, and acquaintances got included in the list and the income limit was not a problem at all. Eligibility for pension is based on several criteria. Although all these are written in the application form, many people bypassed them and got their place on the list. It is not uncommon for undeserving people to be included and benefited from schemes like pensions, implemented by the government for the needy in society. 'We are also entitled to government property', is the general attitude seen in such issues. Oftentimes, the truly deserving ones are left behind and the undeserving ones avail the benefits through influence. Today, there are proper systems to collect the personal information of applicants, but there are many people who cheat the government by concealing the facts by providing fake income certificates and other documents obtained through influence. If inspections are tightened, fraudsters can be caught easily, and the government's move to redo the social security pension list can be seen as part of this. Along with this, steps should also be taken to solve the problem of genuine destitute who have not yet been included in the list. Just like the steps taken to detect those who were claiming benefits with ineligible ration cards, it should also be possible to remove fake pensioners from the list. The new test is scheduled for June and the removal of disqualified has to be done through that.