Chhattisgarh’s Mahtari Vandan Yojana: Why Thousands of Beneficiaries Were Removed

In the Mahtari Vandan Yojana, an ambitious program by the BJP government in Chhattisgarh, over 3,399 women in the Bastar district were removed from the beneficiary list within a year. The primary reasons for the removals include the death of 1,923 beneficiaries. Other women were delisted because of discrepancies in their documentation or because they were employed in government service while receiving benefits from the scheme. The Women and Child Development Officer, Manoj Sinha, noted that in some cases, funds were disbursed before the authorities were notified of the beneficiaries’ deaths, and the recovery of these funds is now ongoing. The scheme, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year from Kashi, provided the first installment to approximately 194,000 women in the district in the first month. The 19th installment was released this month, but many women are still excluded due to missed registrations, inactive Aadhaar cards, or new eligibility. Registration efforts have begun in Naxal-affected areas. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Rajwade announced the reopening of the registration portal. The Women and Child Development Officer confirmed that while new registrations are not being taken in Bastar, registration of Naxal victims is ongoing in Naxal-affected areas. The department is investigating suspicious beneficiaries and recovering funds from those who have received benefits improperly.