Nearly 4,000 beneficiaries excluded from Annapurna Yojana list during verification in Purba Medinipur

The ongoing verification of beneficiaries for the Annapurna Yojana in Purba Medinipur district has led to the exclusion of nearly 4,000 names from the proposed beneficiary list. According to administrative sources, individuals whose names were removed from the revised voter list through the Summary Revision process, along with deceased persons and other ineligible beneficiaries, are being excluded from the scheme. Officials have indicated that the figure may increase further as the verification exercise continues across the district.

The state government has directed authorities to bring existing Lakshmir Bhandar beneficiaries under the Annapurna Yojana, under which eligible beneficiaries are proposed to receive a monthly financial assistance of ₹3,000 from June. Simultaneously, applications from new beneficiaries are also being accepted. As part of the verification process, beneficiary data is being cross-checked with voter lists and other government records to identify eligible recipients. Administrative sources stated that individuals whose names no longer appear in the revised voter rolls are not being considered for inclusion under the new scheme.

Purba Medinipur previously had approximately 14.28 lakh beneficiaries under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. The verification process is currently being carried out across nearly 4,420 polling booths in the district, involving officials ranging from Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to Block Development Officers (BDOs) and Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs). District Magistrate Niranjan Kumar stated that, in accordance with government directives, names removed through the voter list revision process and those of deceased individuals are not being included in the Annapurna Yojana beneficiary list. He confirmed that approximately 4,000 names have been excluded so far and that verification remains ongoing.