Kolkata, July 5 -- The Chief Secretary has ordered compulsory field-level enquiries into all 27.83 lakh provisionally rejected applications under the Annapurna Yojana across the state, directing officials to upload recommendations on every case to the designated portal.

The exercise, which began on Sunday, must be completed within seven days to ensure no eligible beneficiary is denied benefits in their Aadhaar-linked bank account. The directions followed a review meeting on the scheme chaired by Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal at Nabanna on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Agnimitra Paul, state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister and Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister, other departmental secretaries, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Commissioner, District Magistrates, Sub-Divisional Officers and Block Development Officers through virtual mode.

Minister of State for WCD Malati Rava Roy, who holds independent charge of the department, said that although a large number of beneficiaries had already received assistance, several cases required immediate verification to ensure that no eligible applicant was deprived.

Of the 1.62 crore applications received, 1.22 crore have been approved, while 27.83 lakh have been provisionally rejected due to exclusion criteria such as payment of income tax, ownership of more than three rooms, and possession of a GSTIN.

The Chief Secretary directed that offline applications received at Jana Kalyan Shivir camps be digitised wherever pending. "Each case should be enquired into and uploaded with a recommendation for approval or rejection along with reasons.

This exercise should be completed by July 10 positively," the meeting minutes, a copy of which is with Millennium Post, stated.

The National Informatics Centre (NIC) will develop a facility on the existing portal to receive fresh claims and objections, which will also be verified and uploaded. District administrations have been asked to coordinate with banks to resolve payment failures and Aadhaar-related issues, while the WCD department will take up such matters with nodal banks. The next review meeting will be held on August 1, 2026.

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