Kolkata, Jan. 29 -- The Calcutta High Court has sought an explanation from the West Bengal government over allegations that nearly 7000 women in East Midnapore's Moyna block have not received benefits under the Laxmi Bhandar scheme for the past five months.
Hearing a public interest litigation on Thursday, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Parthasarathi Sen directed the state to submit a detailed report within two weeks. The matter will be taken up again on February 17.
According to the petition, women beneficiaries in Bagcha Gram Panchayat, under the Moyna Assembly Constituency, have allegedly not received payments since September last year. The Laxmi Bhandar scheme provides monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,200 to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women and Rs 1,000 to women from other categories.
The advocate for the petitioners argued that the beneficiaries were being deliberately deprived of the scheme's benefits. He claimed that although the funds are routed directly to beneficiaries' bank accounts through the district administration, the problem has been reported only in Bagcha gram panchayat, which is run by the BJP.
The state government, however, contested the allegation. Its counsel informed the court that several complaints relating to the area had been received by the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare. These complaints are currently under examination, and appropriate action would be taken after verification.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.