Govt to take strict action against those who secured scheme benefits fraudulently: Suvendu

Kolkata, Jul 10 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday said that large-scale irregularities had taken place in the implementation of welfare schemes under the previous TMC government, and strict legal action would be taken against those who had availed the benefits fraudulently. Speaking to reporters after chairing an administrative review meeting in Murshidabad district, Adhikari said the state government was carrying out a comprehensive verification of beneficiaries of various welfare programmes, including the women-centric financial assistance scheme 'Lakshmir Bhandar' and minority scholarships. "In this district, we have found widespread irregularities in different government schemes. There has been massive corruption. I have gone through some of the police reports and found that around 600 beneficiaries registered for the 'Lakshmir Bhandar', and 3,500 for the minority scholarships are fake," Adhikari said. Some of the people had taken benefits of SCs, OBCs and physically challenged people though they did not belong to these categories, he said. "Most of the cases are fake. The previous government is responsible for this," Adhikari said. The chief minister said officials were scrutinising records, including Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts and 'Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance, to identify ineligible beneficiaries. "The previous government used to transfer the money to the account numbers provided. But we are thoroughly checking the documents. During the verification of Aadhaar linkage, bank accounts and KYC details, fake beneficiaries are being detected. Give us two months to complete the exercise. Strict legal action will be taken against everyone found to have secured benefits fraudulently," Adhikari said. He also said the government would ensure that benefits under the 'Annapurna Yojana', which replaced the 'Lakshmir Bhandar', reached only eligible beneficiaries after the verification process was completed. "Since July 1, around 12 lakh women have received financial assistance under the 'Annapurna Yojana' scheme. About 15 lakh women are expected to benefit," he said. The BJP government in West Bengal introduced the 'Annapurna Yojana after coming to power in the state, providing monthly financial assistance of Rs 3,000 to eligible women. PTI SCH NN