The Bengal government has notified free bus travel for women in all state-run buses from June 1, alongside launching a verification exercise for its upcoming Annapurna Yojana and setting the groundwork for a new direct benefit transfer scheme for eligible women.

According to a Transport Department notification issued on May 21, women will be allowed free travel in both short- and long-route state government-operated buses across Bengal from June 1, 2026, as part of a women empowerment initiative aimed at improving access to public transport.

The notification stated that eligible women will be issued a smart card containing a QR code, photograph and beneficiary details, which can be obtained through applications submitted at BDO or SDO offices. The card will be issued based on supporting identity documents including Aadhaar card, EPIC, driving licence, PAN card, passport, pension documents, government or PSU ID cards, and school or university identity cards.

Until the smart cards are issued, women passengers will be permitted to avail the benefit on production of valid photo identity documents such as Aadhaar, voter ID, driving licence, PAN card, passport and government-issued service IDs. Conductors will issue "zero value tickets" after verifying identity documents, the notification added.

The scheme will come into effect from June 1, 2026, the department said.

Annapurna Yojana verification drive underway

The state government has also intensified preparations for the rollout of the Annapurna Yojana, a financial assistance scheme for women replacing the existing 'Lakshmir Bhandar' programme.

Under the scheme, eligible women between 25 and 60 years of age, who are not government employees, pensioners or income tax payers, will receive Rs 3,000 per month through Direct Benefit Transfer into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.

An official order issued by the Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department has directed district administrations to complete a verification and database-cleansing exercise before the scheme becomes operational on June 1.

According to the notification, all existing beneficiaries of the 'Lakshmir Bhandar' scheme will be migrated to the Annapurna Yojana, except those identified as ineligible due to categories including “dead, shifted, deleted and absentee electors identified during SIR- 2026, deletion in the second list after publication of draft list, deleted after adjudication, ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Dead, or Duplicate) found during voter slip distribution”.

A separate order from the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Swarupnagar in North 24 Parganas has instructed field officials including gram panchayat staff, gram rojgar sahayaks, nirman sahayaks and booth-level officers (BLOs) to conduct door-to-door verification of beneficiaries.

The order further said that cases involving “absent, shifted, dead and duplicate electors” will be examined daily, and deletion proposals for ineligible beneficiaries must be submitted on a daily basis.

Officials have also been asked to ensure Aadhaar-linked bank accounts are properly updated to enable smooth transfer of funds under the scheme.

"The state government wants the beneficiary list to be completely clean and verified before the scheme becomes operational. District administrations have been asked to treat the exercise as urgent and ensure that no eligible person is left out while ineligible entries are removed," a senior official said.

The government has also decided to deploy Booth Level Officers (BLOs) along with block-level staff for large-scale verification, while a dedicated online portal is being developed for authentication, corrections and database rationalisation.

"The monitoring is being done at the highest level. District-wise progress reports are being submitted to the chief secretary every evening to ensure adherence to timelines," the bureaucrat added.

The verification and cleansing exercise is scheduled to be completed by May 25, according to official orders.

The government has also announced that an online application portal for new beneficiaries will be launched on June 1. Applications will be verified by government officials or Kolkata Municipal Corporation authorities depending on residential jurisdiction, with district magistrates and the KMC commissioner acting as sanctioning authorities.