VIJAYAWADA : The cash awards being presented in three categories to village/ward volunteers for meritorious service have been enhanced from this year.
The State government has been presenting Seva Vajra, Seva Ratna and Seva Mitra awards to the volunteers. Seva Ratna cash award has now been increased to Rs 45,000 from Rs 30,000, Seva Ratna to Rs 30,000 from Rs 20,000 and Seva Mitra to Rs 15,000 from Rs 10,000 respectively.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will formally launch the presentation of Seva Mitra, Seva Ratna and Seva Vajra awards to the best village/ward volunteers at a function in Phirangipuram of Guntur district on Thursday.
The programme will be held across the State for seven days. The government will distribute cash awards worth Rs 392.05 crore to 2,55,464 volunteers across the State.
In addition, 997 volunteers, who collected good quality testimonials from beneficiaries of YSR Pension Kanuka, Aasara and other welfare schemes, have been selected transparently by a committee headed by the District Collector, and will be awarded cash prizes worth Rs 1.61 crore. Each volunteer will receive Rs 15,000 at mandal/town/municipal corporation level, Rs 20,000 at constituency level, and Rs 25,000 at district level respectively.
The criteria for the presentation of awards to volunteers are transparency, integrity, honesty, sincerity, door-to-door survey and extension of all necessary services at the doorstep of beneficiaries.
A total of 875 volunteers have been selected from 175 Assembly constituencies in the State for the Seva Vajra award, while top 10 in each municipal corporation will be presented Seva Ratna award. A total of 4,150 volunteers will be awarded Seva Ratna.
A total of 2,50,439 volunteers, who have worked for a year without any complaints or disputes across the State, are eligible for Seva Mitra award.