BALURGHAT, July 6 -- A high-level delegation from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by South Dinajpur district president Swarup Chowdhury, met with the District Magistrate, Balasubramaniam T on Monday, to deliberate on the comprehensive development of the region. The delegation included Balurghat MLA Bidyut Kumar Ray, Tapan MLA Budhrai Tudu and district general secretaries Bapi Sarkar, Subodh Sarkar, Goutam Roy and Debabrata Majumdar.

A central focus of the meeting was the implementation of the 'Annapurna Bhandar' scheme, a flagship welfare promise highlighted in the BJP's election manifesto before the recent Assembly Election. Following the party's successful formation of the government, eligible women are now entitled to receive financial assistance of Rs 3,000 per month. However, initial rollout challenges have emerged, with numerous deserving beneficiaries temporarily excluded due to faulty verification processes.

Under the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress administration's 'Lakshmir Bhandar' scheme, general category women received Rs 1,500 while SC and ST women received Rs 1,700, benefiting around 4,60,000 women across the district. A recent SIR verification, however, led to the deletion of 60,000 names from the system. Under the newly introduced Annapurna Bhandar initiative, approximately 2,80,000 women have registered so far, out of whom 2,05,000 have successfully started receiving their financial benefits.

Addressing the verification grievances, District Magistrate Balasubramaniam T reassured the public that every genuine applicant would be protected.

"The massive rollout was executed within a very compressed timeframe, making initial errors quite natural.

We are actively rectifying these administrative discrepancies and reprocessing applications," the DM stated, while highly praising district officials for their relentless hard work under tight deadlines.

Echoing the DM's reassurance, BJP District President Swarup Chowdhury urged the aggrieved women to maintain patience. "Every administrative process involves strict guidelines. The government is committed to resolving these technical oversights promptly so that all eligible women receive their funds soon," he stated.

Beyond social welfare schemes, the delegation reviewed major infrastructure milestones aimed at upgrading South Dinajpur. Chowdhury confirmed that the long-standing proposals for establishing a local medical college and a state university are advancing steadily, with active processing and monitoring from higher administrative levels to accelerate the district's overall growth.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.