West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday announced the eligibility criteria for the state's Annapurna scheme, under which eligible women aged 25 to 60 will receive a monthly assistance of ₹3,000, and said payments to beneficiaries would begin from August 17.
Adhikari said women earning more than ₹10,000 a month or belonging to families with an annual income of above ₹12 lakh would not be eligible for the scheme.
Those already receiving certain government benefits, including disability allowance and PM-Kisan assistance, however, would remain eligible, provided the other criteria are met, he elaborated.
For rural women, having more than three rooms in a house or owning more than 50 decimals of land would not by itself disqualify them from receiving the benefit, he said.
What did Adhikari say?
"Last month, questions were raised about many eligible women not receiving the money. Now, women in rural areas having more than three rooms will also get the benefit. This will increase the number of rural women covered under the scheme," Adhikari said.
The Bengal CM said women receiving other government allowances lower than ₹3,000 would be entitled to receive the difference under the Annapurna scheme.
He said the final verification and scrutiny of applications was underway and payments would be transferred directly to the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries from August 17.
"Eligible women between 25 and 60 years of age will receive the money. There is no reason to worry about this. The Finance department will transfer the money district-wise. Those whose verification has been completed will receive the money in their accounts in the second week of every month," Adhikari said.
Under the scheme, widows aged between 25 and 60 would also be eligible, subject to the condition that they are not receiving benefits under another social security scheme, he said.
Adhikari said the number of beneficiaries was expected to rise this month. Around 28 lakh women received payments under the scheme in June, while the number rose to 1.19 crore in July, he said.
Taking a swipe at the previous Trinamool Congress government, Adhikari said the current administration was ensuring that eligible beneficiaries received the assistance without prolonged verification.
"How many months did the previous government take to provide ₹500? Do you remember? It took nine months. Verification was carried out every month. We will give Annapurna money to those who are eligible," he said.
The Annapurna scheme was promised in the BJP's election manifesto for women aged 25 to 60 and was subsequently implemented after the party came to power in the state.
Adhikari said payments would be made on a priority basis to all women who meet the eligibility criteria.
