Mamata Banerjee's Lakshmir Bhandar was a superhit scheme. The BJP government promised its own version, Annapurna Bhandar, and has now launched it. But the scheme is already in the middle of a massive controversy.
Mamata Banerjee's Lakshmir Bhandar was one of her government's most popular schemes. The BJP had promised to launch Annapurna Bhandar on similar lines. Now that they have fulfilled the promise, the scheme is caught in a huge controversy across the state.
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12-page Annapurna Bhandar Yojana form released
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari released the Annapurna Bhandar scheme's form from Nabanna. The 12-page document has since become the main topic of discussion across the state.
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Chief Minister's announcement
After becoming Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari announced that no welfare schemes from the previous government would be stopped. He said his main goal is to ensure only genuine beneficiaries get the benefits. The administration is now busy removing the names of deceased persons and infiltrators.
The first controversy is about the 12-page form itself. To get the monthly ₹3000, people must fill this long form. Many feel this is a huge challenge for people from backward sections of society.
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Family information
Women are unhappy because they have to provide detailed information about their entire family to get the Annapurna Bhandar money. They are questioning why a woman needs to disclose her whole family's financial details for a personal benefit.
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Women's allegations
Many women allege that the government is cleverly collecting all family data through this 12-page form. They believe this is a tactic to gather information not just about the applicant but the whole family, which could lead to a drop in the number of beneficiaries.
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Number of beneficiaries in Lakshmir Bhandar
Under the previous government, the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme had 2.20 crore beneficiaries. Now, 30 lakh names are set to be removed from this list. This includes fake beneficiaries and also women excluded by the SIR process.
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New and old have to fill the form
Even existing Lakshmir Bhandar recipients have to fill this new 12-page form, along with new applicants. This means everyone has to fill the form to get the ₹3000. This has raised the question: why do old beneficiaries need to apply all over again?
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30 questions
The released Annapurna Bhandar form asks for answers to 30 different questions. People are asking why so many questions are necessary. The form asks for details like land area, number of rooms in the house, and family health insurance. It even asks about children's vaccination status, and applicants can't see the reason for it.
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Government vs Opposition
Agnimitra Paul defended the move, saying, 'Initially, we thought the beneficiary list was flawless. But we found that even infiltrators were getting benefits. So we had to start a verification process.' Kunal Ghosh countered, 'How are all the family details in the form relevant? Why so many conditions? Will everyone who fills the form even get the money?'
