KOLKATA: Protests by women over delayed payments under the Annapurna scheme spread across West Bengal on Friday, with road blockades, alleged damage to Seva Setu Abhiyan camps and the gherao of a BJP MLA reported from several districts.
The three-day Seva Setu Abhiyan, launched on October 2 to take government services closer to people, turned into a statewide flashpoint as women beneficiaries demanding long-delayed Annapurna payments confronted officials and protested at camps.
From Malda and Cooch Behar in north Bengal to Hooghly, Howrah, South 24 Parganas, West Burdwan and Bankura, women arrived at the camps seeking updates on their applications and payments. Many complained of delays, unclear processing and, in some places, the absence of dedicated Annapurna counters.
Around 3,300 camps have been set up as a one-stop mechanism for accessing government schemes, including Annapurna, Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and various pensions. The camps are also intended to help applicants whose earlier applications were rejected understand the reasons and resolve pending issues.
However, Annapurna emerged as the main grievance on the opening day.
In Harishchandrapur in Malda district, women blocked roads after a block development officer (BDO) allegedly made objectionable remarks in connection with the scheme. In Ratua block, a Seva Setu Abhiyan camp was allegedly ransacked by women protesting delayed Annapurna payments.
In Cooch Behar town, women protested at Rabindra Sadan, alleging that they had not received the scheme’s payments for four months despite being eligible. Similar protests, including alleged ransacking of camps, were reported from Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas, Uluberia in Howrah, Banarhat and several other areas.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, while addressing a bypoll campaign for BJP candidate Hasirani Rath from the Nandigram Assembly seat in Purba Medinipur district, said around 70,000 women in Nandigram had received the Annapurna allowance.
“We won’t deprive anybody under the scheme. Women who have filled out the form as per the rules and guidelines of the government will get the allowance of Rs 3,000 soon,” the Chief Minister said while addressing a gathering at Birulia Maheswar Bazar in Nandigram.
Nearly four months after the BJP government replaced Lakshmir Bhandar with the Annapurna Yojana, promising Rs 3,000 a month to eligible women, thousands have taken to the streets over non-payment of the benefit.
Earlier, on September 22, major demonstrations were reported from Udaynarayanpur in Howrah, Khandaghosh in Burdwan, Jalpaiguri town, Basirhat and Bagda in North 24 Parganas, as well as parts of Cooch Behar.
The government has said 1.58 crore women received the September instalment of Rs 3,000, but it has not released a consolidated statewide figure for eligible women who remain unpaid. Many applications are listed as “under process”, “under enquiry” or “rejected” following verification.
In August, around 1.45 crore women received the benefit. The government had earlier said 27.8 lakh applications were rejected during scrutiny, while around 4.5 lakh complaints had been received regarding the scheme.