BJP alleges Rs 200 crore scam in Delhi Women’s Pension Scheme, demands probe

Days after a door-to-door verification drive by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department revealed that over 60,000 beneficiaries under Delhi’s Women’s Pension Scheme were ineligible, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva has demanded a thorough investigation into the alleged scam.

The scheme provides monthly financial assistance of Rs 2,500 via direct benefit transfer to ensure social security for widowed, divorced, separated, abandoned, deserted, or destitute women above 18 years of age who lack adequate means of livelihood and fall under the poor and vulnerable category.

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However, the verification drive, launched in November last year, revealed widespread irregularities, raising concerns about systemic lapses and potential misuse of public funds.

Sachdeva alleged that as per the findings, over 83,000 registered cases involving women were fake or suspicious, leading to an estimated scam of over Rs 200 crore annually in the name of more than 60,000 non-existent or ineligible beneficiaries.

Urging Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to initiate a probe, Sachdeva said the investigation, which began in October last year, was inexplicably stalled until February.

“According to the available data, a total of 3,81,539 women were registered under the pension scheme. But the investigation uncovered irregularities in two major categories, with over 60,000 fake registrations. Additionally, 22,795 cases involved duplication or other discrepancies,” he stated.

Among the 60,573 dubious cases, investigators found that the women either could not be located at their registered addresses or there was no proof of residence. In several instances, the addresses provided were found to be fake, he added.

Sachdeva further claimed that an annual scam of around Rs 200 crore has taken place in the name of these fake beneficiaries. He demanded that former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal clarify the matter.

“In whose pockets did this Rs 200 crore per year go — ministers’, MLAs’, party workers’, officials’, or into the Aam Aadmi Party’s election fund?” he asked.