Application 'glitches' hit several Subhadra beneficiaries in Gajapati

Berhampur: Several women in Gajapati district are facing problems in getting the Subhadra money or their applications are being rejected for various discrepancies, they claimed.

G Nirmala (51) of K Sitapur village received the first instalment of Rs 5,000. She, however, didn't get the second instalment. She was in for a surprise as the reason for non-payment was that she was "not alive".

T Ganta (38) of the same village has no land. She had also applied for Subhadra assistance. But her application was rejected citing her family has more than five acres of irrigated land.

"Like Nirmala and Ganta, applications of around 60 beneficiaries have been rejected for various reasons," claimed K Tejeswar, sarpanch, K Sitapur panchayat.

He said the application of K Kamala (38) was rejected citing that one of her family members was a govt pension holder, which is not the case. Application of a daily labourer was rejected claiming one of her family members had a govt job, he alleged.

"Even though the applicants had lodged their complaints on the govt portal, their grievances are yet to be solved," said Tejeswar. He said they have also met the block development officer (BDO) and several other officers earlier.

"We hope the govt will solve our problems and provide financial assistance under the scheme," said Nirmala.

Gajapati collector Bijay Kumar Das said there might be some technical problems during the application process for which they were rejected. "Eligible women need to lodge their complaints on the portal exclusively opened for the Subhadra beneficiaries. It's an ongoing process," he added.

"District administration has no role in the process. Our field inquiry team will visit the area to identify the left out beneficiaries, if any instruction comes from the govt, and submit reports," said the collector.