The State Government on Saturday announced Harischandra Sahayata Scheme under the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) to provide assistance to the poor and distressed families for funeral rituals.
The scheme will be launched from August 15 and poor people will avail the benefit irrespective of their religion, caste and creed.
The Government has relaxed certain provisions of CMRF to facilitate poor and distressed people to easily avail financial assistance.
Gram panchayats, notified area council, municipality and municipal corporation will be sanctioned ` 20,000, ` 60,000, ` 1 lakh and ` 3 lakh respectively annually.
Sarpanch has the power to sanction between ` 1000 and ` 2000 while chairpersons of urban local bodies have the power to sanction between ` 1000 and ` 3000.
The State Government will issue operational guidelines by August 6 and place the required funds with the Panchayati Raj and Urban Development Department for distribution.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who had a video conference with the Collectors on the new scheme said ` 15 crore has been set aside for the programme from the CMRF.