More than 21,000 women miss Griha Aadhaar linking deadline

PANAJI

Over 21,000 women beneficiaries of the Griha Aadhaar scheme have had their monthly doles suspended after missing the Central government’s April 30 deadline for switching to the Aadhaar-based payment system. 

Official sources told The Goan that despite repeated reminders, 21,137 of the 24,856 beneficiaries failed to link their Aadhaar numbers with their bank accounts in time. This has resulted in the automatic pause of their payments under the Women and Child Development Department’s (WCD) flagship scheme.

A senior WCD official said that only 3,719 beneficiaries completed the Aadhaar seeding and verification process before the cut-off. Those who missed the deadline must now complete additional steps to reactivate their entitlements. The arrears will be paid once they comply with the required formalities, officials confirmed.

The Finance Ministry had issued a circular issued on November 17 last year, mandating that all government benefits be routed through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System (APBS) from March 1, 2024. Following this, the WCD directed all beneficiaries on December 12 to visit their banks, link Aadhaar with their accounts, and submit confirmation to their respective taluka offices. The deadlines were extended from time to time across all departments. 

“SMS alerts were sent, but thousands didn’t act, may be for various reasons such as lack of awareness, or banking issues or anything else. Their payments are on hold until the process is completed, which may now involve lenghty procedures,” the official sources said.

The department clarified that the scheme has not been withdrawn for the affected recipients but only suspended. Once the Aadhaar linkage is completed and verified, monthly disbursements will resume along with pending arrears.

To assist with compliance, the department is launching a constituency-level outreach drive to assist women complete the required formalities.

“In order to facilitate the Aadhaar seeding process and submission of documents by beneficiaries, the department is conducting special campaigns at the constituency level,” a statement read.

Currently, 1,24,204 women are receiving Griha Aadhaar payments through the new Aadhaar-based system. A total of 1,45,341 are enrolled under the scheme.

The department has appealed to those who have not yet complied to immediately visit their bank, ensure Aadhaar linkage and submit proof to their respective taluka offices to restore their benefits.