Summary:
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said the 70,000 odd beneficiaries removed from the ambit of social security were fraudulent cases who were drawing benefits at the cost of genuine ones. A total of 70,137 fake social security beneficiaries have been weeded out after a thorough verification and re-verification exercise conducted by the Social Security and Women and Child Development department, said an official release. The notification to investigate and identify suspected pensioners was issued by the Social Security department in June 2017, on the directions of the chief minister, soon after the Congress government came to power in Punjab. In Muktsar, the Badal's so-called bastion, 7,441 ineligible beneficiaries were availing benefits to the extent of Rs 15.70 crore, the release said. In Fazilka, which includes the Jalalabad assembly constituency of former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Fazilka segment of the then social security minister Surjit Kumar Jyani, 2,452 ineligible beneficiaries were availing benefits to the extent of Rs 6.14 crore..