Kolkata, Aug. 17 -- The West Bengal government on Monday began disbursing the August instalment under the Annapurna Yojana, with 1.45 crore beneficiaries set to receive Rs 3,000 directly into their bank accounts between August 17 and 20. Of the 1.62 crore applications verified, 1.45 crore were approved, while around 17 lakh were rejected.
The announcement was made at Nabanna by Ministers of State (MoS) for Health Sumana Sarkar and Information and Cultural Affairs Purnima Chakraborty in the presence of Moumita Godara Basu, Secretary of state Women and Child Development Department. The state has allocated Rs 4,350 crore for the project.
This is the third month in which beneficiaries have received payments under the scheme. In June, 28 lakh women received financial assistance and in July, 1.19 crore received the aid.
Officials said Aadhaar-related discrepancies were the main reason for rejection. Around 10 lakh of the 17 lakh rejected applications reportedly had problems with the linking of Aadhaar with the applicant's bank account. Some applications were also rejected after verification showed that the applicant or a family member was employed in government service or that the household fell within the income-tax-paying category.
The government has directed block development officers (BDOs) to work with banks to organise special camps to help applicants resolve Aadhaar-bank linkage issues.
Applications submitted between July 11 and July 31 are currently under verification. The process may continue until September 30, after which eligible applicants will be brought under the scheme in subsequent phases.
Those whose applications have been rejected can reapply through the 'Social Register' option on the government portal for Annapurna Yojana. The re-application facility will open on August 20. Their documents will be scrutinised again by the district administration, while applicants can also lodge complaints through the portal against their exclusion.
Fresh applicants will have to wait until after September 30 to apply.
The government has laid down several exclusion criteria for the scheme. Permanent employees of the Centre or state government, statutory bodies, government undertakings, panchayats, municipalities and government-aided educational institutions, as well as their families, will not be eligible.
Pensioners above 60 years of age will also be excluded. Households with an annual income of more than Rs 12 lakh and women earning more than Rs 10,000 a month will not be considered eligible for the scheme.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.