Bengal CM: 26 Lakh Women Denied Annapurna Cash Over Voters' List Absence; 1.1 Crore Benefited

Launching the Annapurna Yojana, a direct cash transfer scheme for women in West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday stated that 26 lakh applications for the scheme were rejected because the applicants' names were not on the voters' list.

Adhikari said, 'Twenty-six lakh forms submitted under the Annapurna scheme have been rejected. Screening was necessary… These 26 lakh women are not Indian, and their names are not on the voters' list. Some are dead, some do not have voter ID cards, and some had their names listed in three places. Such names have been removed. Government money cannot be received by any non-Indian.'

The chief minister's remarks come amid a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the Calcutta High Court against the government's move to bar people from receiving ration through the Public Distribution System (PDS) whose names were deleted from the voters' list following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Speaking at the launch of the Annapurna scheme at Kolkata's Netaji Indoor Stadium, the chief minister said the first tranche of funds was credited to the accounts of nearly 1.1 crore beneficiaries. 'The total number of approved beneficiaries in West Bengal whose data have been uploaded on the scheme's portal currently stands at around 1.3 crore. Of them, money has been transferred to 1.1 crore beneficiaries. Those who are yet to receive the money will have funds transferred by the end of the day,' he said.

Adhikari added that the government will not discontinue existing welfare schemes and will not deprive eligible applicants of their rights. 'We will fulfil every guarantee offered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,' he said.

The Annapurna Yojana was introduced by the newly elected BJP government, replacing the previous Trinamool Congress government's Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. Under the new scheme, a monthly allowance of Rs 3,000 is paid to eligible women. The state government has allocated Rs 36,000 crore for the scheme in its Budget presented on June 22.

The chief minister noted that the Annapurna beneficiaries include over 26.5 lakh women from the Scheduled Caste category, nearly 5 lakh Scheduled Tribes women, and more than 1.2 lakh Gorkha community women in the Darjeeling hills. He added that about 8.15 lakh names were included based on applications made at the Jan Kalyan camps recently organised by the government.

Adhikari also said that Bangladeshi refugees who have applied for citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and those who have moved tribunals challenging their name deletion from electoral rolls have been retained as Annapurna scheme beneficiaries until their applications are disposed of.

Separately, the chief minister announced two new measures for women's safety: a women's helpdesk at all police stations starting Thursday and a new emergency helpline 'Dial 112'. Adhikari said, 'The new helpdesk will start operating from Thursday at all police stations across the state. The administration expects that through this helpdesk, women will be able to lodge complaints easily and receive prompt assistance.'