Only 10% work slips genuine, says Vij

Chandigarh: A probe into a work slip scam in Haryana has revealed that 90% of the investigated slips were fraudulent, said labour minister Anil Vij on Friday.The minister said out of 21,78,523 work slips examined, only 2,70,945 were found to be genuine, while 19,07,578 were confirmed as fake or invalid. The scam, which involves the labour department, came to light last year. As a single worker can receive up to Rs 2.5 lakh in govt benefits, the use of these fake 90-day work receipts to register ineligible people has resulted in what Vij described as an outright loot of the state treasury. The investigation was conducted by committees across all 22 districts, headed by deputy commissioners, following initial reports of large-scale irregularities in Hisar, Kaithal and Jind. The govt has formed a high-level committee to track exactly how much money was disbursed to these fake workers. The minister announced that a portal will soon be reopened to reactivate the IDs of labourers with valid work slips so they can continue receiving benefits. For those whose slips were flagged as invalid, the govt will provide a hearing process, allowing them to submit representations to a designated authority to prove their eligibility. MSID:: 130001787 413 |