Khotang, October 22

There are reports of irregularities in social allowance in Baraha Pokhari in Baraha Pokhari Rural Municipality-1, Khotang.

This came to light after locals filed a complaint at the rural municipality office, saying social allowance was continuously being released for long in the name of 33 persons who had either died or migrated elsewhere.

As per the complaint, 25 of the 33 names for whom social security allowance is ostensibly being released have already died, while three persons have migrated elsewhere. Similarly, the records show four persons receiving double benefit. Disability allowance is continuously being paid to a person who doesn’t exist at all.

“We filed a complaint with the rural municipality when the irregularity dawned upon us,” said a local Bidur Shrestha. It is important to note that government auditors, examining accounts back in February, had also pointed out the irregularities.

According to ward Secretary Pusparaj Rai of Baraha Pokhari, who was transferred here not long ago, he is striking off the names of persons entitled to social security allowance but they have either died or migrated elsewhere.

According to the kin of late Kapil Bahadur Thapa, they had registered the death of their family member at the ward office around two years ago. “Nearly two years after his death, we’ve now come to know that the social allowance entitled to him is being released continuously to this day,” said the deceased’s grandson Rajan Thapa.

Similarly, Garbhimaya Tamang had died in April 2018. “Nearly one-and-a-half years after her death, social security allowance entitled to her is still being released. Though they stopped paying us the allowance from June last year, we came to know that the allowance was being released till this date. We don’t know who is receiving the allowance,” she said.