Postal staff rob widows,elderly of 400 pension

The great pension robbery of TN 22sept 2010

Postal staff rob widows,elderly of 400 pension

Julie Mariappan | TNN

Chennai: Tamil Nadu,which prides itself in doling out welfare schemes worth thousands of crores of rupees,is sitting on a mega scam that robs widows,destitute women,the physically handicapped and the elderly of their meagre monthly pension of Rs 400.There are 2.43 lakh people in the city availing of the government pension.
Following a TOI expose on Saturday,CBI has started cracking down on a few post offices where the staff have been either collecting illegal commission or pocketing the entire amount.The four post offices raided by CBI covers 50,000 such beneficiaries,suggesting that the postal employees have been stealing lakhs of rupees from the pensioners every month.
Lack of monitoring of the pension disbursement emboldened postmen to make a killing.There is no proper coordination between the postal department and the revenue department,as illiterate pensioners are taken for a ride, says V Gopalakrishnan of Fact India,an NGO.
Social activists suggest introduction of biometric systems and savings bank accounts with nil balance to put an end to the exploitation.This could also save the Rs 40 crore spent by revenue department (it pays the postal department Rs 20 per pension),which could be diverted for some development work, said C Selvaraj,a Chennai-based RTI activist said.In the absence of such a system,the elderly assemble in the second and third weeks of the month in anticipation of the postman.From those lucky few who get their pension on time,the postman takes Rs 20 to Rs 40.Not many pensioners know that the sum should be delivered at their doorstep.Most pensioners are too scared to even ask the postmen if the money has come.They might think I am being impatient and get offended and they might not give me the money.So,I just wait, said D Rajathiammal.