Sarita, a beneficiary from Paud village in Pune district, said, “I have not received the money for the last four months. I was informed it was due to incomplete KYC, but now that the portal has reopened, I am unable to log in.”Although beneficiaries have until March 31 to make corrections, many said they could not access the portal or update their details.One woman, who did not wish to be named and has not received money for the last two months, said, “The govt should set up special offices at the district level to help address the situation.”The problem became worse after physical verification by Anganwadi workers was stopped. Field staff had protested against this extra work, leaving beneficiaries with only digital options and very limited help.Last week, Tatkare, through a post on X, said the department received many complaints that some beneficiaries have not received the payout because they selected the wrong option during the e-KYC process. “Several eligible beneficiaries who completed e-KYC still did not receive the scheme’s benefits. In view of this, all such beneficiaries are being given another opportunity to correct their e-KYC details. Accordingly, a facility was made available on the online portal to make corrections in e-KYC details till March 31,” the minister stated.The women and child development department stated that its main goal is to ensure all eligible women receive the scheme’s benefits. Officials added that payments for Jan and Feb are still pending due to the model code of conduct, which has added to earlier delays.With the state budget coming up next month, beneficiaries have expressed concerns over the scheme’s continuation. This is despite deputy chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s recent statement that the amount may be increased from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 in the future, even though the state is facing financial pressure due to many welfare schemes.Officials said e-KYC corrections will continue until March 31, and those who are unable to complete the process will be verified later.The issue began when a wrongly worded question in the e-KYC form led to more than 24 lakh women being wrongly marked as state govt employees. As a result, their monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 was stopped.The state govt spends around Rs 3,700 crore every month on the scheme, which supports about 2.25 crore women.
