West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that approximately 3 million beneficiaries of the Lakshmir Bhandar cash-transfer scheme are ineligible [1].
This move ties social welfare access to citizenship and voter registration, potentially removing millions of women from a primary financial support system. The decision links the distribution of state funds directly to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and voter-roll verification.
Adhikari said the ineligibility stems from a lack of proper documentation or legal status. "These people have either been permanently deleted from the voter list, have not applied for citizenship under CAA, or have not appealed to an SIR tribunal," Adhikari said [2].
The Lakshmir Bhandar program previously provided monthly cash transfers to women. General category women received Rs 1,500 [3], while women from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities received Rs 1,000 [3].
To address those currently in legal limbo, the Chief Minister introduced the Annapurna Bhandar scheme. This new initiative is designed specifically for women who are currently CAA applicants, or those who have filed appeals with a tribunal linked to the SIR [4].
Adhikari said the new Annapurna Bhandar scheme will be for women who are CAA applicants or have appealed to an SIR-linked tribunal [4]. This restructuring ensures that state welfare is reserved for those who can prove their eligibility through the specified legal channels.
Around 3 million beneficiaries are affected by this purge [3]. The administration is now prioritizing the verification of voter rolls to ensure that only eligible citizens receive direct cash transfers from the state treasury.
“"Around 3 million beneficiaries of the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme are ineligible."”
By linking welfare benefits to CAA applications and voter-roll status, the West Bengal government is using financial incentives and penalties to enforce citizenship verification. This shift transforms a social safety net into a tool for administrative auditing, effectively penalizing those without current legal documentation while creating a separate, conditional pathway for those pursuing citizenship.
