TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: After catching government servants red-handed, enjoying benefits of Dayanand Social Security Scheme (DSSS), the State government has now begun screening fraudulent applicants from South Goa.
The Department of Planning, Statistics and Evaluation has already begun a water-tight survey in the talukas of South Goa district to find illegal beneficiaries due to whom funds allotted under the scheme were exhausted.
The survey officials were recently given all required information and training by the Department of Social Welfare, which is the implementing agency of welfare schemes.
“The report will be submitted to the government and if anyone is found to be illegally gaining benefits, government will decide on the action to be initiated,” an officer said.
Currently, the highest number of 25,435 beneficiaries are availing the benefit under the scheme in Salcete. Mormugao has 8,760 and Quepem has 7,804 registered beneficiaries. Sanguem, including Dharbandora, has 5,868 and Canacona has the least number of beneficiaries ~ 4,860.
The survey has been completed more than a year after the North Goa district survey in 2011. HERALD had first exposed in March 2012 that 14 government servants were enjoying DSS benefits despite being in service.
The survey had also detected that that 919 beneficiaries’ annual income was more than Rs 20,000 per annum as against the then Rs 12,000 per annual slab prescribed in the scheme.
Similarly, 1,907 beneficiaries were migrants and 491 retired servicemen had an annual income more than the prescribed limit.The government has began recovering the amount with eight per cent interest from the guilty government servants, who in their show cause replies had expressed innocence and promised to pay back the amount they picketed from the scheme.
As on date, the social welfare department has recovered Rs 2.25 lakh out of a total recovery amount of Rs 6.92 lakh it has estimated. The recovery process began in October 2012.
“Since the government is sympathetic, we have allowed paying back the amount in instalments. Illegal beneficiaries have been given a maximum of six instalments to pay back the amount with interest,” said an officer.
The 2012-13 budget presented by the Manohar Parrikar government scaled up the remuneration from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 for DSS beneficiaries.
