The chairperson said the municipality would need additional time to thoroughly review the list and understand why the finance department deemed these individuals ineligible for pensions. “In 2022, we removed 28 people from the list of beneficiaries.

This action proves that the municipality is vigilant in ensuring that pensions are granted only to eligible individuals. Following the finance department’s report, we will take further action to remove any ineligible beneficiaries,” she said.

Meanwhile, Gopinathan Kottuparambil, councillor of the 7th ward, claimed that the number of ineligible beneficiaries in the division was not as high as projected. “There might be four or five ineligible persons on the list. I also believe that no ineligible person should receive welfare pensions. I take initiatives to periodically remove ineligible people from the list.

The report suggesting that a beneficiary owns a luxury car is untrue. A detailed investigation should be conducted across all divisions in the municipality to identify ineligible beneficiaries, and the exclusive focus on the 7th ward is suspicious,” he said.