61.3 lakh women apply online for Annapurna Yojana

Kolkata: Stepping into her new role as the minister of women & child development and social welfare, Malati Rava Roy said that the seamless and corruption-free rollout of Annapurna Yojana and ensuring safety and empowerment for women and protecting women’s rights are her topmost priorities. She said that around 61.3 lakh women have applied online for the Annapurna Yojana till date.

Rava Roy said, “There is an overwhelming response for the Annapurna Yojana. Till date, the online portal has received 61.3 lakh applications for Annapurna Yojana. The number will rise. We will ensure that genuine beneficiaries receive the facility at the earliest without looking at political colours.” She added, “The details that have been asked in the form will help us to identify genuine beneficiaries, and at the same time we will get data about the number of families and members in the families across the state.”

The highest number of applications have been received till date from North 24 Parganas (7.7 lakh), followed by Murshidabad (7.4 lakh), South 24 Parganas (4.5 lakh) and East Midnapore (4.4 lakh). Kolkata has received more than 93,000 applications till now. Kalimpong received the lowest applications, with more than 2,000 till date.

Already, over 28 lakh women across the state have already received Rs 3,000 each under the Annapurna Yojana as the process of direct benefit transfer (DBT) to the beneficiaries kicked off on June 3.

Rava Roy held back-to-back meetings with the department officials after taking charge on Thursday, where “shortage of manpower in the department” was highlighted.

The new women & child development minister said that ensuring women safety and making women empowered and self-reliant has been her party’s poll promises, which she will fulfil. “We have witnessed the RG Kar case and the victim’s mother is still fighting for justice. The primary goal of this govt is to protect the honour of women and ensure safety. Any gender-based violence will be dealt with an iron hand. The Centre and the state will work systematically in coordination for women’s rights. We will work to empower our daughters, sisters and mothers and make them self-reliant. I believe if women are self-reliant, society will become healthy and progressive,” Rava Roy said, adding, “Among the other areas, I will focus on child marriage, child labour, rise in addiction among kids and transgender issues.”

Malati Rava Roy is an MLA from Tufanganj, Cooch Behar, and national vice-president of BJP Mahila Morcha.