Bihar govt finds over 2 lakh old-age pensioners dead

Patna: After finding that over two lakh beneficiaries of an old-age pension scheme are dead, the Bihar government on Wednesday instructed district officials to complete physical verification of all recipients under that programme, and recover the amount deposited into the accounts of the deceased, officials said.

The decision was taken after a review meeting held by the Social Welfare Department of the Bihar government to assess the progress of various social security schemes including old-age, widow and disability pensions, death compensation, and marriage assistance schemes.

It was found that under the Indira Gandhi Old Age Pension Scheme, more than two lakh beneficiaries were dead.

Department Secretary Bandana Preyashi, who chaired the meeting, said, “All assistant directors of district social security cells should ensure transparent verification, prevent pension transfers to deceased beneficiaries, follow SOPs for recovery where needed, and clear all pending applications alongside meeting scheme targets”.

She also issued an instruction that all district-level officials must adopt a strict target-based approach to ensure that welfare schemes are delivered with timeliness and accountability.

A statement released by the Bihar government mentioned that physical verification for disability, widow, and old-age pensions will now be conducted through Common Service Centres (CSCs), for which 80,000 personnel will be deployed.

“Life authentication through CSCs will be free of cost, and the service centres have been directed to ensure the availability of fingerprint, iris scan, and face authentication systems so that no beneficiary is excluded due to biometric limitations,” the statement noted.

The verification drive will begin on December 1, 2025.

At the review meeting, the progresses of various social security schemes were assessed.