Kolkata, Aug. 5 -- Women beneficiaries awaiting the August instalment of Rs 3,000 under the Annapurna Yojana (AY) need not worry, West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister of State (Independent Charge) Malati Rava Roy said on Wednesday, assuring that the scheme's third instalment will be credited to beneficiaries' bank accounts within August.
The first instalment of AY was disbursed on June 3, and then on July 1, the beneficiaries received the second instalment under the scheme, said Roy at a special session organised by Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).
It is learnt that the department has been flooded with phone calls from anxious beneficiaries as no payment under the scheme has been made till today (Wednesday) this month.
According to sources in the Women and Child Development Department, the ongoing verification exercise has found that benefits were credited to the accounts of some ineligible beneficiaries. Officials said several applicants had allegedly furnished incorrect information in online applications, while a number of offline forms also contained false details.
"There are certain criteria associated with the AY scheme. It is not feasible that a woman whose family income comes within the ambit of income tax gets the benefit of the scheme. We want that beneficiaries who have genuine need for such monetary assistance from the state government derive the benefit," said a Nabanna official.
Officials at Block Development Offices (BDOs), along with local MLAs, are closely monitoring the verification process to ensure that only eligible beneficiaries receive Annapurna Yojana benefits.
The Women and Child Development Department is also holding regular video conferences with district officials in the presence of senior state government functionaries to expedite the verification drive and ensure timely financial assistance reaches genuine
beneficiaries.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.