A shocking case of alleged fraud in the Kanyashree project has come to light in Harishchandrapur-II block of Malda district, raising serious concerns within the administration. Several girls, some married for over two years, some even with children, and one reportedly divorced, allegedly applied for the scheme by falsely claiming to be single to receive financial benefits. The revelation has prompted immediate action from top district officials.
Joint Block Development Officer (BDO) Sonam Wangdi Lama conducted a field verification in Talgachi and Karkaria villages under the Mashaldaha Gram Panchayat after receiving 16 complaints regarding fraudulent applications. Upon investigation, 14 out of the 16 applications were found to be fake.
Speaking on the issue, the Joint Lama said, “During the field verification for the Kanyashree-2 project, I discovered that several applicants were already married. Their applications will be rejected. There are also objections and allegations regarding some cases, which we will investigate further. Additionally, there are claims that some applicants were lured into applying in exchange for money, and we are looking into those allegations as well. The project is strictly for unmarried students, and verification is conducted through schools before field inspections are carried out by the block administration. In Talgachi village, I received three complaints, and all three applications were confirmed to be fraudulent."
The Kanyashree project was launched by the West Bengal government to prevent child marriage and support the education of young girls. It is implemented in two phases: Kanyashree-1 provides an annual grant of ₹1,000 for unmarried girls aged 13-18 to support their education. Kanyashree-2 offers a one-time financial assistance of ₹25,000 to unmarried girls after they turn 18.
The fraudulent applications appear to have been motivated by the one-time ₹25,000 grant under Kanyashree-2. However, the parents of the accused applicants have claimed that they were misled into applying under false pretenses. They allege that a block worker and a policeman persuaded them to submit these applications, but they have not been able to provide specific names.
The administration is now investigating these allegations to determine if there was an organised effort to manipulate the scheme.
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