Within one year, the Mahtari Vandan Yojana, a flagship program of the BJP government, has led to the removal of over 3,399 names of women from Bastar district. Among these, 1,923 beneficiaries were removed because they had passed away. The other women were removed because of discrepancies in their documents or because they were government employees who continued to receive the scheme’s benefits.
According to Women and Child Development Officer Manoj Sinha, funds were released in several cases due to the late reporting of deaths, and the department is now recovering these funds. The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year in Kashi, and in the first month, nearly 194,000 women in the district received their first installment. The 19th installment has been disbursed this month. Despite this, many women are excluded due to issues such as not registering, inactive Aadhaar cards, or recently qualifying for the scheme.
Registration is proceeding in Naxal-affected regions. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Rajwade have already stated that the registration portal will be reopened. The Women and Child Development Officer confirmed that while new registrations are not currently being accepted in Bastar, registration is underway for victims in Naxal-affected areas. The department has placed suspicious beneficiaries on an investigation list and is recovering funds from those who have improperly received benefits.