In the past year, the Mahtari Vandan Yojana, a key initiative of the Chhattisgarh government, has seen the removal of names of over 3,399 women from Bastar district. Among these, 1,923 beneficiaries were deceased. The remaining women were removed due to discrepancies in their documents or because they were government employees who were also availing themselves of the scheme’s benefits.
According to Women and Child Development Officer Manoj Sinha, in some cases, funds had been released due to delayed reporting of deaths. The department is now working to recover these funds. The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year and in the first month alone, nearly 194,000 women in the district received their first installment. The 19th installment has already been disbursed this month. However, many women are still excluded from the scheme due to factors such as failure to register, inactive Aadhaar cards, or recent eligibility.
Registration efforts are underway in Naxal-affected areas. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Rajwade have announced that the registration portal will be reopened. While new registrations are not currently being accepted in Bastar district, the department is registering victims in Naxal-affected regions. The department has placed suspicious beneficiaries on a list for investigation and is recovering funds from those who have benefited improperly.