Punjab rolls out women’s aid scheme, beneficiaries face registration hurdles

The Punjab government on Wednesday, July 1, launched the ‘Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhiyaan Satkar Yojana’, under which eligible women have started receiving the first instalment of financial assistance in their bank accounts. While the government claimed that around 40 lakh women have been registered under the scheme, reports from several districts indicated that many applicants continued to face difficulties in completing the registration process due to the non-availability of application forms.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann formally launched the scheme at a function in Dhuri, his Assembly constituency in Sangrur district, in the presence of senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Punjab affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia, Punjab unit president and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora, and the Chief Minister’s wife, Dr Gurpreet Kaur.

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Under the scheme, women belonging to the general category will receive financial assistance of ₹1,000 per month, while Scheduled Caste (SC) women will be entitled to ₹1,500 per month. As part of the launch, the government credited three months’ assistance in a single instalment, with eligible beneficiaries receiving ₹3,000 and ₹4,500, respectively, directly into their bank accounts.

Several beneficiaries expressed satisfaction after receiving confirmation messages regarding the transfer of funds. A student from Dhuri said the assistance would help her meet educational expenses, while an elderly beneficiary described the scheme as a step towards greater financial independence for women.

However, the rollout also witnessed complaints from various parts of the state. At Anganwadi centres in Ferozepur, several women alleged they had made repeated visits to obtain registration forms but returned empty-handed. Some claimed they had visited the centres multiple times without being able to complete the application process.

Anganwadi workers also acknowledged delays in the availability of forms, saying only previously issued forms were currently being processed. They added that technical issues with the online portal had further slowed registrations, leading to inconvenience for applicants arriving at the centres.

Women waiting outside an Anganwadi centre questioned the effectiveness of the scheme if application forms were not made readily available, while some elderly applicants voiced dissatisfaction over the difficulties faced during registration.

Meanwhile, the scheme received a positive response in several districts where beneficiaries successfully received payments. In Tarn Taran district, officials said financial assistance amounting to ₹27.34 crore had been credited to the accounts of 80,733 women. According to the District Programme Officer, 59,943 women from the general category received ₹17.98 crore, while 20,790 Scheduled Caste beneficiaries received ₹9.36 crore under the scheme.

Following the launch event in Dhuri, Chief Minister Mann attended another programme in Patran, where Shiromani Akali Dal (Surjit) leader Karan Singh DTO joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Party leaders said the induction was part of the organisation’s continuing efforts to strengthen its political base ahead of future electoral contests.