An audit in Odisha finds that 2,487 beneficiaries listed as deceased under the state’s Nirman Shramik scheme continue to receive food rations after their recorded dates of death, using Aadhaar authentication. The figure reported by outlets comes from analysis of beneficiary data obtained from the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department.
The reports say the “deceased” listings are connected to how death records and claims are handled for construction workers, with concern that medical officers may have issued death certificates for workers who were still alive. One outlet describes a draft audit report asserting this enabled nominees to receive assistance under the Nirman Shramik Scheme. Another outlet focuses on the authentication pathway by which these beneficiaries were able to continue drawing ration under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS).
Across the coverage, the shared claim is the mismatch between death records and ongoing ration access through Aadhaar. Both accounts present the findings as emerging from audit scrutiny of administrative data, while details beyond the audit’s calculations—such as outcomes for responsible officials or specific amounts tied to each case—are not uniformly provided.
