Assam: Make DBT Payments Seamless, CAG Recommends to Dispur

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The performance audit on direct benefit transfer (DBT) in Assam for the year ended on March 31, 2022, painted a gloomy picture with inadequate IT infrastructure, double payments, duplicate payments, and the like.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) was a major reform initiative of the Government of India (Gol) to ensure better and more timely delivery of benefits from the government to the people. DBT in Assam started with the constitution of a DBT cell in August 2017. The State DBT portal is hosted by the Department of Information and Technology, and its onsite technical support is being maintained under the Finance department, the nodal department for DBT. There are 94 schemes in 17 departments registered under being maintained under the State DBT portal. Audit reviewed four DBT schemes (two centrally sponsored schemes, one central sector scheme, and one state sector scheme) for the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20, namely, pre-matric scholarship for SC, ST, and minority students and the Deen Dayal Divyangjan Pension Scheme.

The audit examined five sampled districts and covered 101 institute nodal officers across the sampled districts, the CAG report tabled in the State Assembly on August 30, 2024, said.

The audit found the state DBT Cell did not create adequate IT infrastructure and a robust database for seamless implementation of various central and state schemes under DBT. During the period 2018-19 to 2019-20, the audit noted 2,424 cases where the same beneficiaries had claimed pension in multiple districts under the Deen Dayal Divyangjan Pension Scheme. There were instances of excess payments being made to duplicate beneficiaries. An excess payment of Rs 1.90 crore was made to 1,901 beneficiaries under the Deen Dayal Divyangjan Pension Scheme, while 451 students had availed of scholarships under the Pre-matric Scholarship for ST more than once, resulting in an excess payment of Rs 10.22 lakh.

The audit further said that payment of scholarships at hostel rates was made to students of such schools where there was no hostel facility. During the test-check of 101 schools, the audit witnessed fraudulent payments of Rs 5.92 crore in 86 such schools on account of scholarship payments to minority students towards hostel charges.

In sampled districts, fake payments of scholarships amounting to Rs 2.98 crore were made to 3,138 students who were not enrolled in schools, the audit said.

The CAG recommended that the state DBT cell should be made fully functional in terms of all its components and effective coordination ensured with the state government departments. Integration with scheme-specific MIS with the State DBT Cell should be done to exhibit complete and reliable data. Steps should be taken by the State DBT Cell to enrol the beneficiaries with a unique ID, and the unique ID number should be linked with the bank account number of beneficiaries. The use of a unique biometric identification number would obviate the need for multiple documents to prove one's identity and would bring in transparency and efficiency for beneficiaries' selection and benefits conveniently.

The CAG further recommended that the Social Welfare Department may migrate the Deen Dayal Divyangjan Pension Scheme to a suitable IT platform with proper enrolment and validation procedures so that instances of beneficiaries claiming pensions from multiple districts under the scheme no longer recur.

It said that the government may undertake a thorough review of the implementation of the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Minorities and examine the systemic issues that led to such widespread fraudulent claims of hostel rate scholarship on non-existing hostels and fake beneficiaries and fix accountability for the same. The government may also ensure that the unique ID-based demographic authentication of the institute/district nodal officers of the scheme is completed at the earliest.

 Also Read: Assam: Various programmes under DBT Star College scheme held (sentinelassam.com)

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