The Telangana government’s ongoing liveness authentication exercise under the Cheyutha pension scheme has uncovered major irregularities in the pension database, including pensions being disbursed in the names of 40,751 deceased beneficiaries. The exercise also identified 13,913 beneficiaries who were either untraceable, had migrated or were no longer interested in receiving pensions.

Officials further found that 3,475 beneficiaries were residing in other States while continuing to draw pensions in Telangana. More than 100 beneficiaries voluntarily informed authorities that they no longer required pension benefits after securing employment or other sources of income.

According to official data, the verification process also revealed Aadhaar-related issues in the case of 11,184 beneficiaries, prompting the government to review their eligibility, particularly in cases involving duplicate or multiple Aadhaar cards. Authentication details could not be captured in the case of 27,776 beneficiaries.

The irregularities came to light during the State government’s liveness authentication drive launched to enhance transparency in the implementation of the Cheyutha pension scheme and ensure that benefits reach only genuine beneficiaries.

As of June 21, 15,97,233 out of the total of 19,04,239 pensioners receiving benefits through the Core Banking System (CBS) had completed the authentication process, taking the overall completion rate to 83.88%. However, 3,07,006 beneficiaries are yet to complete the process.

Mancherial and Mulugu districts emerged as the top performers, achieving 100% completion of the authentication exercise. Siddipet recorded a completion rate of 97.16%, followed by Rajanna-Sircilla (96.81%), Jagtial (96.53%), Karimnagar (96.26%) and Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri (95.91%).

Rangareddy reported the lowest completion rate at 53.92%, while Medchal-Malkajgiri and Hyderabad recorded 60.50% and 63.36% respectively. Mahabubabad (71.58%), Komaram Bheem-Asifabad (70.69%) and Vikarabad (69.70%) also lagged behind in completing the exercise.

As part of the verification exercise, Rural Development department officials conducted door-to-door inspections across the State. The government has extended the deadline for completion of the authentication process by one week, while officials are visiting the homes of bedridden elderly persons, persons with disabilities and those suffering from illnesses to facilitate the exercise.

Meanwhile, the State government has sanctioned two lakh new pensions and initiated the process of identifying eligible beneficiaries for inclusion under the scheme.