Mahtari Vandan Yojana Faces Purge: Over 3,300 Women Excluded in Bastar District

The Mahtari Vandan Yojana, a flagship program of the BJP government in Chhattisgarh, has seen a significant number of beneficiaries removed from its rolls. Over a period of one year, 3,399 women from Bastar district were removed from the scheme. The reasons for removal include the deaths of 1,923 beneficiaries. Other women were found to have errors in their documents or were government employees who were ineligible to receive benefits. Manoj Sinha, the Women and Child Development Officer, explained that in some cases, funds were disbursed even after a beneficiary’s death due to delayed reporting. The authorities are now in the process of recovering these funds. The scheme was initiated last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Kashi, and in the first month alone, nearly 194,000 women in the district received their first installment. While the 19th installment has been released this month, many women are still not enrolled due to various issues such as missed registration, inactive Aadhaar cards, or recent eligibility. Registration drives are currently underway in Naxal-affected areas. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Rajwade have declared that the registration portal will be reopened soon. The Women and Child Development Officer confirmed that new registrations are not open in Bastar, but registration for victims of Naxal violence is ongoing in Naxal-affected regions. The department is investigating suspicious cases and recovering funds from those who have received benefits improperly.