The West Bengal government's 'Annapurna' scheme, which provides financial assistance to mothers, will now exclude those whose children are not immunised or are studying in unrecognised madrasas. Additionally, women who were deleted from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists will also be denied the benefit.
New Eligibility Criteria Announced
The state government has introduced stringent conditions for beneficiaries of the Annapurna scheme. According to the revised guidelines, mothers must ensure their children receive all mandatory vaccinations. Failure to do so will result in disqualification from the scheme. Similarly, children enrolled in unrecognised madrasas will render their mothers ineligible.
Impact on Beneficiaries
This move is expected to affect thousands of women across West Bengal. The scheme, which aims to provide nutritional support to mothers, has been a key welfare initiative. However, the new rules link benefits to child immunisation and educational institution recognition.
Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari criticised the decision, calling it discriminatory and harmful to vulnerable communities. He argued that many families rely on unrecognised madrasas due to lack of access to recognised schools, and that immunisation rates may be low due to healthcare infrastructure gaps.
Voter List Deletion Clause
Another controversial clause denies benefits to women whose names were removed from voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision. Critics say this penalises individuals for administrative errors or political targeting, rather than genuine ineligibility.
The government defended the changes, stating they ensure scheme benefits reach the most deserving and promote health and education compliance. Officials clarified that women can appeal deletions and provide proof of immunisation or school recognition to regain eligibility.
The revised rules have sparked debate, with civil society groups calling for a review to prevent unintended exclusion of the poor and marginalised.
