Since coming to power, the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal has introduced numerous social welfare schemes, with ‘Lakshmi Bhandar’ emerging as the most popular initiative among women. However, the state administration has now announced a fresh, strict verification process to ensure transparency and eliminate ineligible beneficiaries.

Reports suggest that thousands of accounts could be removed from the rolls following this audit. The government is specifically targeting beneficiaries who do not fall within the age bracket of 25 to 60 years. More importantly, linking an Aadhaar card with a bank account has been made mandatory to receive the monthly disbursement. Beneficiaries are urged to complete their Aadhaar-bank linkage and KYC updates immediately to avoid disqualification. Officials maintain that these measures are essential to ensure that government funds reach the truly deserving citizens and to prevent any misuse of the scheme.