Bengal anti-corruption helpline flooded with one question: 'Where's my Annapurna money?'

The West Bengal government's newly launched anti-corruption helpline has quickly become one of the busiest phone lines in the state — but not for the reasons officials had anticipated.

Instead of reporting syndicate rackets, illegal toll collection or demands for cut-money, hundreds of callers have been asking a very different question: 'When will my Annapurna money arrive?'

Since chief minister Suvendu Adhikari unveiled the BJP government's 'zero-tolerance' policy against corruption and launched four dedicated toll-free numbers on Tuesday, 28 July, the control room on the ground floor of Nabanna has barely had a moment's respite. By Wednesday evening, officials had received more than 2,000 calls.

Much to the surprise of the operators, a large number had nothing to do with corruption.

One caller reportedly asked, "My wife still hasn't received her Annapurna payment. What should we do now?" Another wanted to know, "When will the second instalment be credited?" Others rang to enquire about Ayushman Bharat cards, old-age pensions, electricity bills and even land disputes with neighbours.

One official said with a smile, "It seems people believe Nabanna has become a one-stop solution for every problem. We expected complaints about syndicates and illegal liquor dens. Instead, we are explaining social welfare schemes all day."

Another operator said, "Some people start by saying they have an urgent complaint. We get ready to note down details of corruption, and then they ask why their pension has not arrived."

Officials admitted that the volume of unrelated calls has made the helpline's job considerably harder. "The phones have been ringing continuously from morning until night. We are trying our best to guide everyone, but these helplines were created for a specific purpose," a senior official said.

The government launched four dedicated numbers — 155335 to report syndicate activities, 155337 for illegal road tax or toll collection, 155334 for cut-money complaints and 155339 for illicit liquor dens. Each line has five receivers, allowing 20 operators to answer calls between 8.00 am and 10.00 pm.

Callers seeking information about welfare schemes are now being redirected to a separate social security helpline, 8282082820.

Officials say a public awareness campaign is being planned to explain the purpose of each number. "We clearly need to explain what these numbers are meant for so that people know which number to call for which issue," a senior official said.

Despite the flood of unrelated calls, officials said the helpline has also received several genuine complaints of corruption, all of which have been forwarded to the relevant district magistrates and police authorities.

"If the allegations are found to be true, action has been ordered within a fixed time frame. Every department must also submit an Action Taken Report back to Nabanna," the official said.

Experienced bureaucrats said that while Nabanna's disaster management control room routinely receives calls on every conceivable issue, they had never seen a newly launched public helpline attract so many unrelated queries so quickly.

Much of the public anxiety appears to centre on the Annapurna Bhandar scheme, one of the BJP government's flagship welfare programmes.

The scheme provides eligible women with Rs 3,000 every month through direct benefit transfer. More than 28.25 lakh beneficiaries received the first instalment when the scheme was launched in June. After further verification, the government expanded the beneficiary list in July to nearly 1.1 crore women, from around 1.6 crore applications.

While the first instalment reached nearly 1.1 crore beneficiaries, many women say the second month's payment is yet to arrive.

"I got the first payment, but nothing has come this month. Every day I check my bank account. That's why many of us are calling Nabanna," said beneficiary Jharna Maity. Another beneficiary, Sabita Dutta, said, "Nobody tells us whether there is a problem with our documents or whether we simply have to wait."

Government sources attributed the delay to phased disbursal of payments, ongoing verification of voter roll data and Aadhaar-linked direct benefit transfer issues in some bank accounts. "Verification is continuing. Anyone with data mismatches will receive payment once the issues are resolved," a government source said.

For now, however, the state's newest anti-corruption helpline has found itself answering a different kind of complaint. Instead of exposing graft, operators are spending much of the day responding to one persistent query: "Has my Annapurna money been credited yet?"