Approximately 30 lakh beneficiaries of Lakshmi Bhandar, a cash transfer scheme for women implemented by the previous Trinamool Congress government, were ineligible for it, The Indian Express quoted West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari as saying on Wednesday. This was because the women had either been deleted from the voter rolls after the special intensive revision, or they had not applied for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act, added the Bharatiya Janata Party leader. The remarks came weeks after Women and Child Development Minister Agnimitra Paul said on May 12 that women whose names were deleted during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls will not receive benefits of the Annapurna Bhandar scheme, which is set to replace the Lakshmi Bhandar programme from June 1.Under the new scheme, women will receive a monthly cash handout of Rs 3,000. Beneficiaries were getting Rs 1,500 per month under Lakshmi Bhandar. On Wednesday, Adhikari claimed that the new government’s objective was to “create a clean list” before implementing the new scheme. The administration would have “a clear idea” once fresh application forms were submitted and reviewed, he added. Adhikari said that fresh forms would be issued for the Annapurna Bhandar scheme and that verification would be carried out by the Women and Child Development Department, The Indian Express reported.He clarified that until the verification is completed, the beneficiaries of the Lakshmi Bhandar scheme will continue to receive payments.Describing the transition to the new scheme as a “huge task”, Adhikari said several departments would assist in preparing a transparent beneficiary list.The Assembly elections in West Bengal followed a special intensive revision of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission.By April 6, about 91 lakh voters, nearly 11.9% of the electorate before the process began, had been removed. Ahead of the polling, about 34 lakh appeals were reportedly pending before the tribunals. Of these, seven lakh were against names being included in the rolls and 27 lakh were filed by persons who were excluded. Appellate tribunals set up as part of the special intensive revision process had allowed 1,607 names to be added back to the electoral rolls.Edited by Sneha.