Hyderabad: A government-led payroll clean-up has uncovered serious lapses across departments, with nearly 7,000 outsourced, part-time and contract workers identified for removal amid suspicions of large-scale salary fraud.
The action follows a finance department drive to digitally collect Aadhaar details of all such employees. The verification exercise triggered scrutiny that revealed signs of collusion, fake identities and irregular wage payments. Sources said certain employees and outsourcing agencies allegedly worked together to create bogus staff records and bank accounts, siphoning salaries from multiple departments and sharing the proceeds.
According to finance department data, around 3.75 lakh outsourced and contract workers have registered on the online platform. Last month, the government ordered suspension of salaries for those who failed to submit their details.
“How much money was misused cannot be precisely estimated, but it could run into thousands of crores as more details emerge,” a source said.
The government has warned of strict action if wages are released without Aadhaar linkage. It also emerged that in some departments, officials attempted to route salary payments through heads of account, drawing a firm warning from the state.
The verification began in July with a committee headed by former chief secretary A Santhi Kumari to determine the actual number of outsourced employees. Over the past four months, Aadhaar-linked data was collected from departments and corporations, revealing payments made to several individuals who were not working at all.
A forensic audit is expected to expose more fraudulent claims, while vigilance teams have already been deployed to gather further details. Meanwhile, following the conclusion of sarpanch elections, the government is preparing to release dearness allowance to employees next month.
