West Bengal has directed beneficiaries receiving both the Annapurna Yojana and the state widow pension to choose one scheme, ending the practice of drawing payments from both programmes at the same time. The instruction was issued by the secretary of the state Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department and sent to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation commissioner and all district magistrates.
Under the revised arrangement, beneficiaries who currently receive widow pension alongside Annapurna Yojana assistance must submit a written declaration stating which benefit they want to continue and which one they are willing to give up. They will have to complete a prescribed form for the selection.
The state currently provides Rs 3,000 a month under the Annapurna Yojana and Rs 1,500 a month under its widow pension scheme. The change will therefore require affected beneficiaries to choose between a higher monthly payment under Annapurna Yojana and the separate widow pension benefit, according to the report published by Sangbad Pratidin – Kolkata.
The directive states that the list of beneficiaries receiving both forms of assistance is available on the SAMPATH portal. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation commissioner and district magistrates have been instructed to collect each beneficiary’s option and upload the information to the portal by September 29.
The decision follows an earlier announcement by Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari that a single beneficiary would not be permitted to receive both the widow pension and Annapurna Yojana payments. The latest departmental instruction sets out the administrative process for implementing that decision across Kolkata and the districts.
The government has clarified that the restriction does not apply in the same way to all welfare benefits. Beneficiaries may continue to receive Annapurna Yojana assistance alongside disability pension and the Krishak Bandhu benefit, according to the report. The directive specifically identifies the widow pension as the payment that cannot be combined with Annapurna Yojana support.
The measure places local administrators at the centre of the transition. Municipal and district officials must identify affected beneficiaries, obtain their written choice and update the state’s digital records before the deadline. For beneficiaries, the immediate issue is to understand the available options and submit the required form within the prescribed period. The directive’s next administrative milestone is the September 29 deadline for uploading beneficiary choices to the SAMPATH portal.
