Mizoram Sets Sep 30 Deadline For Fraudulent Family Pensioners To Surrender Their PPOs

The Family pension is intended to protect the family of a deceased employee from falling into financial difficulties. But after noticing that many ineligible individuals have been receiving family pension by producing fraudulent or invalid documents, the Mizoram government has given these pensioners a deadline of September 30 to surrender their pension payment orders (PPOs). The Chief Minister Lalduhoma emphasised that the government resolves to ensure that only genuine family pensioners receive the entitlement.

The CM cautioned that anybody who is receiving a family pension using forged documents will have to face legal consequences, along with immediate discontinuation of the pension. According to a PTI report, of the total 39,954 state pensioners, 11,194 are currently registered as family pensioners. The minister issued a warning to officials issuing the pension certificates to be vigilant and follow rules strictly; otherwise, legal action could be taken against those who are involved in facilitating fraudulent claims.

The state government has outlined the specific categories of beneficiaries who are ineligible for family pension. These include claimants who remarry while drawing family pension, serving government employees or existing pensioners who are drawing family pension in the names of their parents or children, among others. The drive to identify the ineligible family pensioners targets people who have produced forged documents of birth, marriage, non-marriage, divorce, or income.

As per the rules, a beneficiary whose total monthly income from all sources reaches a threshold of Rs 12,702, including a minimum pension of Rs 8,700 with dearness relief (DR), is disqualified from receiving family pension.

However, the government has given an opportunity to such pensioners to rectify their status and surrender their PPOs. A three-month window has been running since July 1 and will close on September 30. Under this amnesty scheme, the state government has allowed ineligible family pension beneficiaries to inform their respective Treasury Office about this, and in return, they don’t have to refund the pension received by them so far. Authorities have also sent letters to the heads of various churches, asking for their assistance in circulating and reading out the Finance Department’s office memorandum dated June 16 to congregations.

The government wants to remind people about government rules and their responsibility to abide by them, with the help of churches. Reportedly, several ineligible beneficiaries have already surrendered their PPOs since July 1. But for those who fail to do so by the deadline (September 30), the state is set to take enforcement measures once the deadline has passed.

A dedicated task force will conduct verification of all family pensioners to identify the ineligible ones. Pension for these pensioners will be stopped with immediate effect, and they will have to face formal prosecution and legal action under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) or the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).