Kolkata: People who have married more than twice or have refused to vaccinate their children or have dropped out of govt schools to enrol in “certain religious educational institutions” or are non-citizens will not be eligible for any of the state’s social welfare schemes, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has said.The CM, who held a review meeting with senior officials and ministers in north Bengal on Friday, said: “The benefits are meant only for genuinely eligible and needy people. No non-Indian will receive the benefits. Those who have married three times will not be eligible. Those who refuse govt or emergency vaccinations will also be excluded. Likewise, those who have left govt schools to study in certain religious educational institutions will not receive the allowance.”This is not the first time Adhikari has referred to these conditions. In several public meetings after taking oath as CM on May 9, he questioned the rationale of people continuing to receive state financial assistance while refusing to abide by govt’s health and education mandates.On July 1, during an implementation review of his govt’s flagship Annapurna Yojana, the CM had reiterated that any family or guardian refusing or neglecting to give their children mandatory govt vaccines will be deemed ineligible. Page 8 of the 11-page Annapurna Yojana form requires applicants to declare the immunisation status of up to four children and seeks details of school type (govt-aided, private or madrasa ). Additionally, the form requires the head of family to list existing schemes from which he/she receives money.Vaccine hesitancy in Bengal is lower than the national average, with the overall vaccination rate ranging between 92.3% and 99.4%. The state’s public health infrastructure overwhelmingly dominates the delivery system, administering vaccines to 96.3% to 99.1% of children. The Universal Immunisation Programme under Centre’s National Health Mission provides vaccines free of cost to prevent 12 life-threatening diseases.
