Gurgaon: Sometimes, the biggest obstacle between a citizen and a govt benefit is not eligibility, paperwork or policy. It is a wrong entry on a computer screen.Across Faridabad, residents said errors in parivar pehchan patra (PPP) database have left them trapped in bureaucratic limbo – unable to access widow pensions, ration benefits and other welfare schemes despite months of repeated complaints. While one such case was resolved within 24 hours after intervention from senior officials, many others continue to wait for corrections that could determine their financial survival.The issue surfaced again on Monday at a grievance redressal camp at the mini secretariat in Sector 12, where residents narrated how incorrect entries in the family ID system had disrupted their lives.Among them was Geeta Devi of Dabua Colony, who has spent more than two months trying to have her husband Raj Kumar declared ‘deceased’ in the PPP database after he succumbed to cancer on March 28.Raj Kumar, who ran a ration depot, battled the disease for years. According to Geeta, the family exhausted its savings and even sold its house to fund his treatment. Yet, despite repeated visits to govt offices, the records still show him as ‘alive’, preventing her from applying for widow pension.“My husband died more than two months ago, but on paper he is still alive. Because of this error, I cannot receive my widow pension and have been forced to keep visiting offices without any solution,” Geeta said.Another resident, Vijay Pal from Dabua Colony, alleged that a six-marla property was wrongly linked to his name in PPP records, inflating his family income and leading to the cancellation of ration benefits.“I have submitted every possible document the officials asked for. But the mistake remains. One incorrect entry has caused my family to lose out on benefits that we genuinely depend on,” he added.Pal has spent the past seven months approaching multiple govt offices and lodged four complaints through samadhan camps, but without any success.Harkesh Nagar resident Sudhan Lal Bishnoi raised a similar grievance. Following his son’s death in July last year, he sought correction of the family’s annual income records. He said repeated requests over the past 11 months have yielded no result, even though the household now largely survives on his daughter-in-law’s widow pension and assistance meant for dependent children.In another case, Narendra Sharma of Baselwa colony alleged irregularities in a loan application submitted under the Prime Minister’s employment generation programme. Sharma claimed his wife Babita’s signatures were obtained on documents and a business, Jai Ambe Garments and Footwear, was linked to her without the family’s knowledge. Though an inquiry was ordered after he approached the deputy commissioner in Dec, he said no action had followed.These complaints stand in contrast to the recent case of Mirzapur resident Pawan Kumar, who spent nearly five months trying to prove he was alive after the PPP portal incorrectly showed his wife, Shyamvati, as a widow.“It was only after the matter reached senior officials that the correction was made. For months, I was being asked to prove a marriage that took place 31 years ago,” Kumar said.Following intervention from the chief minister’s office, the family’s status was corrected from “widow” to “married” within 24 hours.Responding to the grievances on Monday, additional deputy commissioner Anjali Shrotriya said most complaints related to income discrepancies and addition of family members in PPP records. She said officials had been asked to improve the functioning of samadhan camps and resolve such cases on priority.For many residents, however, the corrections cannot come soon enough. Until they do, a single error in a database continues to stand between families and the benefits meant for them.
