VIJAYAWADA: In all likelihood, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will announce the rollout of the Unemployment Allowance Scheme on Independence Day. The much-awaited proposal to provide dole has been hanging fire for a while, prompting the Opposition to use the delay to attack the ruling party ahead of the Nandyal byelections.
According to highly-placed sources, the state government has more or less completed the procedure pertaining to the scheme, which is expected to come into force on Vijaya Dasami in October. Only those on employment exchanges registers will be eligible for the benefits. Youth not on the rolls will, however, be given time to get the formalities completed.
The state government is learnt to have restricted the scheme to include only those in the age group of 18 to 40 years. The allowance payable to them would depend on their qualifications.
There are about 34.5 lakh unemployed persons in the specified age group in the state, but only 10.5 lakh have registered themselves with employment exchanges. Of the 34.5 lakh, 12.5 lakh are graduates, 10.5 lakh have passed their intermediate and 12 lakh have cleared their SSC.
Dole is being handed out in only 10 states across the country, ranging anywhere between `200 and `2,000. The Chief Minister is contemplating “to enhance the skills” of those who will receive the allowance by making them undergo training and serve state government departments. “We want the scheme to be a flagship programme of the state government,” Youth Empowerment Minister Kollu Ravindra told reporters.