Eligible beneficiaries of West Bengal’s Annapurna Yojana will receive their August instalment of ₹3,000 on September 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced on Monday.
According to Adhikari, around 1.48 crore women will receive the payment directly in their bank accounts. The chief minister also announced that beneficiaries will get another opportunity to apply for Annapurna Yojana and other welfare schemes during November and December, when welfare camps will be organised at the gram panchayat and municipal levels.
The announcement came as Adhikari handed over benefits to beneficiaries of old-age, widow and disability pensions at Nabanna. The state government has increased the monthly pension under these schemes from ₹1,000 to ₹1,500, he said.
Adhikari also flagged alleged irregularities in welfare schemes and said applications were being scrutinised. Referring to an incident in Chandrakona, West Midnapore, he said, “A man was arrested there for taking widow pension. Many people are availing themselves of these welfare schemes by falsifying their age and using fake certificates.”
The chief minister urged people who are not eligible for the schemes to voluntarily give up the benefits. He said 83,05,919 beneficiaries are currently receiving the three pensions, with the government spending around ₹14,771 crore annually on them.
The government has also decided to scrap the waiting lists maintained under social welfare schemes by the previous administration, Adhikari said. Applications submitted through welfare camps after the new government came to power will instead be considered.
Adhikari further appealed to widows aged between 25 and 60 who are currently receiving the ₹1,500 widow pension to apply for the Annapurna Yojana. If eligible, they would receive ₹3,000 per month under the scheme instead.
Special provisions have also been announced for women with disabilities. Adhikari said women with disabilities aged between 25 and 60 would be eligible to receive Annapurna Yojana benefits in addition to their disability pension. Around 1.34 lakh women with disabilities are expected to receive a combined benefit of ₹4,500.
The chief minister also claimed that the state's revenue collection has increased significantly since the BJP government came to power. “Since this government came to power, revenue has increased by 18 per cent compared with the previous financial year,” he said.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government will organise special programmes across the state from September 17 to October 7 to mark 25 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administrative career, including his tenure as chief minister of Gujarat and as Prime Minister, Adhikari announced.
