VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will release the financial assistance of Rs 10,000 under the third phase of YSR Vahana Mitra scheme for the eligible autorickshaw/taxi drivers a month in advance, said Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah Nani.
Talking to reporters at RTC House here on Thursday, Venkataramaiah said the scheme was launched on October 4, 2019 with an aim to provide an annual allowance of Rs 10,000 to auto and taxi drivers so that they can meet expenses towards insurance premium, licence fees and the likes.
“In the wake of the pandemic, the government, in June 2020, released the financial aid four months in advance. A total of Rs 262.49 crore was disbursed.”As many as 2,36,344 autorickshaw and maxi/taxi cab drivers benefited from the assistance in 2019-20, and 2,73,985 in 2020-21. However, the aid will benefit 2,23,238 this time.
“Relevant lists of eligible candidates are kept in all village / ward secretariats. Those who bought new vehicles need to enrol themselves for the scheme on or before June 8 while the beneficiaries who applied last year need not reapply.”
Responding to TDP leaders’ remarks against the scheme, he said: “The opposition leaders are misleading the public. In the previous TDP regime, penalties worth Rs 20.6 crore were imposed on autorickshaw drivers. Under theYSRC’s, only Rs 68 lakh fine was imposed in 2019-20 and another Rs 35 lakh in 2020-21.”