New Delhi, April 24 -- A large-scale verification exercise by the Delhi government has revealed that more than 25,000 individuals were fraudulently receiving monthly financial assistance under the women's

pension scheme meant for widows, divorcees, and destitute women.

Launched in 2007-08, the scheme currently provides a monthly support of 2,500 to around 3.8 lakh women in distress. However, a door-to-door survey initiated in November 2024, after complaints about ineligible claimants, has uncovered extensive irregularities.

The verification, conducted by anganwadi workers under the Department of Women and Child Development (WCD), has so far covered 2.28 lakh beneficiaries. Officials report that over 25,000 recipients were found to be ineligible, with cases including remarried women claiming to be divorced, employed women drawing a pension despite a stable income, and others no longer residing at their registered addresses.

"Several cases clearly showed misuse of the scheme," an official from the department said. "We came across beneficiaries who no longer meet the criteria but continued to draw the pension. The verification process is helping us filter genuine claimants and prevent misuse of

public funds."

The department has stopped payments to those flagged as ineligible and resumed disbursing pensions only to verified eligible beneficiaries. Authorities have also confirmed that the remaining beneficiaries, those yet to be verified, will be covered in the next phase of the survey.

"This exercise is not about cutting down support, but ensuring that it reaches the right people," the official explained. "The misuse not only undermines the integrity of the scheme but also deprives deserving women of

timely aid."

The Delhi government spends approximately 1,140 crore annually on the scheme. Eligibility requires women to be above 18 years of age, residents of Delhi for at least five years, and from families earning less than 1 lakh annually.

Officials maintain that the verification drive is essential to restore public trust and protect the welfare initiative's core mission of supporting economically vulnerable women.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.