Audit Finds ₹2.1 Crore in PM-KISAN Irregularities

The review team led by Deputy Collector Rakesh Singh discovered ₹2.1 crore in duplicate or ineligible payments under the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, as per records accessed on March 30, 2026.

Of these, ₹1.8 crore were traced to 4,217 beneficiaries in East Singhbhum district who received twice-monthly installments for the same landholding, while another ₹30 lakh went to retired government employees still listed as farmers.

“We cross-verified Aadhaar-seed data against the land records maintained by the Jharkhand Revenue Department,” Singh told reporters after the April 2 audit review. “In one case, a single Aadhaar number was linked to 11 different PM-KISAN accounts—each with payments totaling ₹4,000.”

The team has already directed the Union Agriculture Ministry’s nodal officer for Jharkhand, Sanjay Kumar Mehta, to blacklist these accounts and initiate recovery through bank offsets.

Ayushman Bharat Flags ₹35 Lakh in Duplicate Deductions

In parallel, the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) team identified ₹35 lakh deducted from 210 beneficiaries who had already availed the ₹5 lakh annual health cover under the scheme for hospitalizations between November 2025 and January 2026.

“Duplicate claims were processed by Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur,” District Health Officer Dr. Priya Sharma confirmed Wednesday. “They submitted the same lab reports and invoices twice—once for ₹18,000 and again on March 5 for ₹15,000.”

The National Health Authority (NHA) has suspended the hospital’s empanelment and demanded refund by April 12, or face blacklisting.

MGNREGS Records Show ₹50 Lakh in Ghost Wage Payments

The audit also found ₹50 lakh in wage payments made to 788 ghost workers registered across 14 gram panchayats in Jamshedpur’s Seraikela-Kharsawan block.

“We cross-checked with the Biometric Attendance System (BAS) and Aadhaar,” Block Development Officer Sushil Kumar Paswan said. “Thirty-two workers listed on muster rolls for road repair works had no biometric attendance.”

Panchayat Secretary Arun Kumar confessed: “Five panchayat heads altered muster rolls to show attendance of workers who never showed up.” All five have been suspended pending further inquiry.

District Collector Orders Recovery Within Two Weeks

During a high-level review on April 3, 2026, District Collector Anil Kumar set a deadline: full recovery and rectification must be completed by April 15.

“Any delay will result in punitive action under the Benami Transactions Act,” Kumar warned civil officers in a closed-door meeting. “We will also publish the names of defaulting officials in local dailies.”

The next audit cycle begins April 6 in Chandil and Manoharpur blocks, focusing on ₹4.2 crore in pending MGNREGS wages from Q4 FY26.

Online Dashboard to Track Compliance

To ensure transparency, the district administration launched Jamshedpur Samiksha, an online dashboard on April 1, 2026, accessible at https://jamshedpur.nic.in/samiksha.

Farmers can check their PM-KISAN status, while ABHA beneficiaries can log discrepancies; both recorded 413 complaints on the first day. The dashboard now shows real-time deductions and recovery statuses.