Faridabad pensioner declared dead in records, forced to prove he is alive for third time

An 80-year-old Faridabad man has been forced to establish that he is alive for the third time after a government pension database allegedly recorded him as deceased, leaving his old-age financial assistance suspended for nearly two years.

Surjan Singh, a resident of NIT-5, approached the district administration at a grievance redressal camp at the Sector 12 mini-secretariat on Thursday, seeking correction of his records and restoration of his pension. His son, Kulwant, said his father submitted proof-of-life documents at the camp for the third time.

The pension, reportedly worth ₹3,000 a month, was stopped after Singh's status was marked as deceased in the pension records, while he continued to be listed as alive on Haryana's Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) system.

Two government databases carry conflicting details

The family said the problem arose from discrepancies between the PPP database and the social welfare department's pension records.

While the social welfare portal identifies Singh as deceased, the PPP database continues to show him as a living pensioner. However, the family has also flagged another discrepancy in the PPP records, which allegedly show an annual income of up to ₹3 lakh for Singh and his wife.

Under Haryana government guidelines, old-age financial assistance is processed and verified through Family ID data for eligible beneficiaries whose combined annual household income is below ₹3 lakh. Officials said inconsistencies between different departmental databases can lead to the suspension of benefits.

The family has questioned how Singh could be shown as alive and a pensioner in the PPP system but as deceased in the pension records. His son's account also highlights the difficulty of repeatedly navigating the verification process at his father's age.

“The pension has not been coming to my father’s account for nearly two years. We did not notice it because his account had money, and he used up that amount. We have visited the pension office and Samadhan Shivir multiple times, but till now there is no solution,” Kulwant said.

Officials promise verification and correction

Singh told officials at Thursday's camp that his age and physical condition made repeated visits to government offices difficult. He sought correction of the records and restoration of his financial assistance.

The grievance panel was chaired by Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Hunny Bansal. District officials said they were examining the mismatch between the local Family ID records and the database maintained by the social justice department.

“Proper investigation in the matter will be done. The records will be rectified following standard verification procedures to ensure the resumption of his financial assistance,” Bansal said.

The family, however, said Singh had already submitted proof-of-life documents several times without his pension being restored.

The case has also highlighted questions over Haryana's system of linking pension eligibility with PPP data. The state uses Family ID information to automatically process and verify benefits for eligible elderly and other beneficiaries, making the accuracy of the underlying records central to the continuation of assistance.

Singh's case comes amid wider complaints at grievance camps in Faridabad over problems involving pension and other welfare records. A separate report from a recent Sector 12 camp described another elderly beneficiary facing difficulties in accessing government assistance because of documentation and database-related issues.