State reports large-scale DBT under Annapurna Yojana; local drives to verify credits
Kolkata: The state government has credited Annapurna Yojana payments to a substantial number of women beneficiaries, with a higher count in north Kolkata compared with the southern zones, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Tuesday.
According to the information provided by the finance department and cited by the Chief Minister at public meetings held at Mahajati Sadan and Dhono Dhanyo auditorium, 1.31 crore beneficiaries had received the cash transfer by Tuesday afternoon. Within Kolkata, the north zone — comprising seven Assembly constituencies — has 76,817 women listed as receiving the monthly entitlement, while the south zone has recorded just above 53,000.
"I enquired with the finance department and learnt that till afternoon, the money under Annapurna Yojana scheme has been disbursed to 1.31 crore beneficiaries," the Chief Minister said, according to the reporting.
Rollout, verification and next steps
The state began crediting the Annapurna payments to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of women whose applications were verified up to 10 July. The current phase of direct benefit transfer (DBT) was expected to continue through Thursday, with verification of applications submitted between 11 and 31 July still underway.
Adhikari indicated that additional beneficiaries will be included as the verification progresses. He also said the state anticipates an overall financial commitment of about ₹48,000 crore for the scheme this year. Officials reported that roughly 1.8 crore applications have so far been submitted; of these, about 1.6 crore have been verified. Some 17 lakh applications were withheld pending further scrutiny, and those applicants may reapply for re-verification from 20 August.
Local mobilisation to ensure credit reaches accounts
To confirm that payments have reached intended recipients, local party units will undertake ground-level checks. The Chief Minister said the South Kolkata BJP Mahila Morcha will conduct door-to-door visits after Thursday to verify account credits. In the north, an "Annapurna Yojana Bahini" is to be formed for similar verification duties, the report said.
- Payments credited: 1.31 crore beneficiaries (till Tuesday afternoon)
- Kolkata north zone: 76,817 beneficiaries reported
- Kolkata south zone: over 53,000 beneficiaries reported
The mobilisation reflects the political salience of the programme in urban pockets of Kolkata where bank accounts, Aadhaar linkage and outreach logistics differ across neighbourhoods from Ballygunge and Alipore to the older north-city wards near Shyambazar and Chitpur.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total applications submitted | 1.8 crore |
| Applications verified | 1.6 crore |
| Applications withheld | 17 lakh |
Administration sources and the Chief Minister’s comments underscore that while bulk transfers have been processed, follow-up verification and outreach remain integral to ensuring entitlements reach all eligible women. The sequential verification windows and the invitation for withheld applicants to reapply from 20 August aim to reduce exclusion errors.
Urban governance experts note that door-to-door verification in dense Kolkata neighbourhoods can face logistical hurdles including account access, mobile connectivity for Aadhaar authentication and frequent intra-city migration. The state’s staged approach attempts to address such operational issues by combining bulk DBT runs with targeted local checks.
As the programme progresses through the week, local party and administrative teams in Kolkata will be closely watched for effectiveness in confirming credits and facilitating re-verification requests, particularly among the city’s economically vulnerable women.
