Over 60,000 beneficiaries have been deemed ineligible under the Delhi government’s Women’s Pension Scheme following a comprehensive verification exercise carried out by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department, officials said on Monday, June 30, 2025.

The scheme provides ₹2,500 in monthly financial aid to widowed, divorced, separated, and destitute women. However, a door-to-door verification campaign launched in November last year uncovered numerous discrepancies, leading to the removal of over 60,000 ineligible recipients from the rolls.

“The verification process revealed that many women continued to receive pensions despite no longer meeting the criteria,” an official said. “These included cases of remarried women claiming divorce status, employed women drawing benefits despite having a steady income, and beneficiaries who no longer lived at their registered addresses.” He added that the drive has now been completed across all districts, and the beneficiary database has been updated accordingly to ensure that only eligible women receive support.

The verification, conducted by anganwadi workers, covered nearly 4.25 lakh recipients.

Crackdown on Fraudulent Claims:

Pension disbursements have been halted for those found ineligible, while payments have resumed for those who passed verification. At present, about 3.65 lakh women are receiving their monthly pension under the scheme, the official said. He emphasized that the aim of the initiative was not to deny assistance to genuine beneficiaries but to root out fraudulent claims and enhance transparency.

The Women’s Pension Scheme, introduced in 2007–08, was designed to offer a steady income to financially vulnerable widows. Over the years, both the benefit amount and eligibility criteria have been expanded.