The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has detected huge irregularities and illegal transfers worth crores of rupees in its audit of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scholarship and pension schemes in Jharkhand.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has detected huge irregularities and illegal transfers worth crores of rupees in its audit of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scholarship and pension schemes in Jharkhand. The CAG report tabled in the Assembly on Thursday said that during the audit, cases of wrongful distribution of scholarship worth Rs 1.17 crore to fake beneficiaries, pension to dead persons and widow pension to male beneficiaries came to light.
Keeping in mind the importance of DBT in social security and scholarship schemes, a performance audit of Direct Benefit Transfer was conducted between November, 2021 and May, 2022,” Accountant General (Jharkhand) Anoop Francis Dungdung said at a press conference here. This audit was for the period 2017 and 2021. Huge financial irregularities were found in the audit.” He said that as a sample, audits were conducted in six districts…Chatra, Hazaribagh, East Singhbhum, Godda, Palamu and Ranchi. The Accountant General said, “The audit was conducted in limited districts. If all the districts are taken into account, the irregularities may be very high.” The scheme used for implementation of scholarship schemes for SC, ST, backward and minority communities, social security pension scheme and DBT transfer- The effectiveness of the unique information technology platform ‘e-Kalyan Jharkhand’ was audited in six districts.
The audit revealed cases of wrongful distribution of minority scholarships to fake beneficiaries,” the report said. It was observed that in 4 out of 6 districts covered under investigation, scholarships worth Rs 1.17 crore were given to 1,482 fake beneficiaries of 14 schools or institutions.” According to the CAG, these institutions were neither registered on the National Scholarship Portal nor User credentials were obtained to log in to the portal.
According to the report, pension schemes linked to social security were found to have not been approved within the stipulated time frame. CAG suggested the Jharkhand government to maintain data of all eligible beneficiaries of the state electronically for universal and better budget preparation. It said the government may initiate investigations to detect financial irregularities and conduct social audits at prescribed intervals to ensure adequate monitoring of schemes.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has detected huge irregularities and illegal transfers worth crores of rupees in the audit of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in scholarship and pension schemes in Jharkhand. The CAG report tabled in the Assembly on Thursday said that during the audit, cases of wrongful distribution of scholarship worth Rs 1.17 crore to fake beneficiaries, pension to dead persons and widow pension to male beneficiaries came to light.
Keeping in mind the importance of DBT in social security and scholarship schemes, a performance audit of Direct Benefit Transfer was conducted between November, 2021 and May, 2022,” Accountant General (Jharkhand) Anoop Francis Dungdung said at a press conference here. This audit was for the period 2017 and 2021. Huge financial irregularities were found in the audit.” He said that as a sample, audits were conducted in six districts…Chatra, Hazaribagh, East Singhbhum, Godda, Palamu and Ranchi. The Accountant General said,
“The audit was conducted in limited districts. If all the districts are taken into account, the irregularities may be very high.” The scheme used for implementation of scholarship schemes for SC, ST, backward and minority communities, social security pension scheme and DBT transfer- The effectiveness of the unique information technology platform ‘e-Kalyan Jharkhand’ was audited in six districts.
The audit revealed cases of wrongful distribution of minority scholarships to fake beneficiaries,” the report said. It was observed that in 4 out of 6 districts covered under investigation, scholarships worth Rs 1.17 crore were given to 1,482 fake beneficiaries of 14 schools or institutions.” According to the CAG, these institutions were neither registered on the National Scholarship Portal nor User credentials were obtained to log in to the portal.
According to the report, pension schemes linked to social security were found to have not been approved within the stipulated time frame. CAG suggested the Jharkhand government to maintain data of all eligible beneficiaries of the state electronically for universal and better budget preparation. It said the government may initiate investigations to detect financial irregularities and conduct social audits at prescribed intervals to ensure adequate monitoring of schemes.
