Aadhaar audit flags 7,000 ghost workers, exposes salary fraud risk
HYDERABAD: A government audit anchored in Aadhaar verification has flagged nearly 7,000 outsourced, part-time and contract workers for removal from payrolls amid suspicions of large-scale salary fraud across departments.
The findings emerged after the finance department launched a drive to digitally collect Aadhaar details of all such employees, triggering scrutiny that uncovered signs of collusion, fake identities and questionable wage payments, sources said.
Officials said patterns indicated that certain employees and agencies allegedly worked in tandem to create bogus employee records and bank accounts. Salaries were then siphoned from multiple departments and shared among those involved, the sources added.
Aadhaar-linked verification uncovers irregularities
According to finance department data, about 3.75 lakh outsourced and contract employees have registered their details on the online platform. Last month, the government ordered the suspension of salaries for workers who failed to submit their information.
“How much money was misused cannot be precisely estimated yet, but it could run into thousands of crores as more details surface,” a source said.
The verification exercise began in July with the formation of a committee headed by former chief secretary A Santhi Kumari to ascertain the actual number of outsourced employees. Over the past four months, departments and corporations submitted Aadhaar-linked data online.
Payments made to non-existent workers, sources say
The process revealed payments to several individuals who were not working at all, sources said, prompting the move to prune payrolls and strengthen oversight mechanisms.
The audit follows broader efforts by the Government of Telangana to tighten controls over outsourced staffing and curb leakages in public spending, officials said.
