Marked dead by mistake, Madhya Pradesh woman out of Ladli list

BHOPAL: After remaining 'dead' for nearly six months, a 46-year-old woman has now come alive on official records in MP's Shahdol district. But she is no longer one of the Ladli Behnas.Uma Kushwaha's husband died in October last year, but officials struck her name off the govt Samagra records. She claims it was deliberate, but officials say it was inadvertent.It wasn't until March-end this year that she was given a second life on Sarkari records. But things are far from normal.Neither she nor officials know when she will start getting Rs 1,250 per month under Ladli Behna Yojana. The last instalment she got was in Nov last year. "The Ladli Behna allowance was a great help to me after my husband died. My condition was such that I took a loan of Rs 20,000 to perform his last rites. But the Ladli money suddenly stopped after Nov 2024. Clueless and worried, I approached the village 'rozgar sahayak'. He said he would check with Janpad office but to no avail," Uma Kushwaha told TOI from Khamidol village, 600km from Bhopal, over phone."In Jan, I filed a complaint with CM helpline. Then, some officials told me that I was declared dead on Samagra records. Since then, I have made several complaints. Now, I am told that the records have been rectified but I am yet to get widow pension or Ladli instalment," she added, questioning how the local rozgar sahayak could strike off her name when her husband died.When TOI contacted rozgar sahayak Shivram Singh Kanwar, he said: "It happened inadvertently and was rectified. Her husband died. Instead of his ID, it was her ID that was mistakenly fed into the system."Panchayat secretary Shyam Sundar Paw said, "It was a mistake by the rozgar sahayak but as soon as it came to our notice, the process of rectification was initiated. It took some time. We are also trying to ensure that she gets Rs 20,000 aid under NSSS."Asked if her Ladli payout will also resume, Paw said, "The portal is closed now. It can be rectified only when the portal is open." Ladli Behna registration is closed as of now.