Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida today chaired a high-level review meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan to address gaps in the implementation of the Subhadra Scheme and ensure that no eligible woman is left out in its third phase of coverage.
Focus on Identifying Left-Out Beneficiaries
The meeting centred on finding new women beneficiaries who had not been included earlier. Addressing a press conference after the review, Parida announced that a door-to-door survey would be launched to identify the 2.85 lakh women left out. Field officers have been directed to complete the exercise and submit reports within the next 15 days.
Grievance Redressal Portal Soon
To make complaint lodging simpler, the government will activate a dedicated grievance portal within two days, where excluded beneficiaries can submit their complaints and request re-inclusion.
Key Review Findings
The review threw up several anomalies:
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15,884 women were marked dead though they are alive.
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36,702 women were excluded for owning four-wheelers.
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21,035 beneficiaries were deleted for filing income tax returns.
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1,33,691 women farmers/paddy sellers were removed due to registration issues.
Parida assured that these cases would be reviewed once again, and a final decision will be taken after consultation with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Departments Roped in for Verification
For cross-checking, the Women & Child Development Department has sought support from other departments:
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Transport Department to verify vehicle ownership.
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Food Supplies Department to validate ration card details.
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Health Department to confirm the status of deceased beneficiaries.
Parida noted that most exclusions were the result of technical errors like missing ration cards or incomplete KYC details, which will be rectified during the verification drive.
Towards Inclusive Welfare
The Subhadra Scheme, aimed at empowering women through direct cash transfer, has faced criticism earlier for exclusion errors. This corrective review, Parida emphasised, is a decisive step towards inclusive welfare, ensuring eligible women do not miss out in the coming phases.