Massive PPP Fraud Uncovered in Haryana: Thousands Submit Fake Divorces for BPL Benefits

An extensive fraud operation has been exposed in Haryana where over 12,000 couples submitted fictitious divorce papers to manipulate their income records on the Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) system. These families falsely split their households to qualify for Below Poverty Line (BPL) status, unlocking access to numerous government welfare schemes.

Authorities in Jhajjar have arrested seven individuals, including Yogesh Kumar, the district manager of the Citizen Resources Information Department (CRID), along with several service providers from Jhajjar and Nuh districts. The accused allegedly altered district codes and family identification records to create fraudulent PPP documents. 

"This appears to be a well-organized operation spanning multiple districts," said Ajay Kumar, Cyber Police Station SHO. "Investigations reveal that beneficiaries from Jhajjar, Rohtak, and Sirsa districts manipulated the system by falsely lowering their household incomes." 

The scam involved couples submitting blank papers as divorce documents through Common Service Centres, which were then authenticated by corrupt officials. This created separate family IDs that artificially split household incomes to fall below the Rs 1.80 lakh annual threshold required for BPL classification.

Dr. Satish Khola, state coordinator for CRID, confirmed that all contractually hired accused have been terminated while a departmental inquiry continues. Officials estimate government losses at approximately Rs 100 crore as beneficiaries received benefits from multiple welfare programs.

The fraud highlights systemic issues in Haryana's welfare distribution, where approximately 70% of the state's population is currently classified as BPL—an unusually high percentage that suggests widespread income underreporting.

BPL beneficiaries receive free food grains, subsidized cooking oil and sugar, eligibility for housing plots, and various financial aid programs through Labor and Social Welfare departments.

Police have filed charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Prevention of Corruption Act, with investigations ongoing to identify all beneficiaries of the fraudulent scheme.