BHUBANESWAR: Amid chaos and confusion over authentication of the Aadhaar number and its linking with bank accounts, Deputy Chief minister Pravati Parida on Saturday said eligible women applicants, who have registered for Subhadra Yojana by September 15, will get their first instalment after the launch of the scheme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17.
“More than 50 lakh women have already applied for the scheme. Those who apply for the scheme till Sunday, will get the first instalment of Rs 5,000 credited to their DBT-enabled bank account on Tuesday, on the Prime Minister’s birthday,” Parida told mediapersons.
The deputy chief minister, however, clarified the remaining beneficiaries, if any, will get their first instalment later. She said a padayatra will be organised across the state on Sunday to create awareness on the flagship scheme and its benefits. “The padayatra will be organised in every gram panchayat and big revenue villages in the state. A mega-padayatra will be held in the capital city. The awareness rally will commence from Giridurga temple and end at Rama Devi university. Around 10,000 padayatras will be organised by the Women and Child Development and Mission Shakti departments across the state,” she said.
As announced by the state government, all eligible women aged above 21 to 60 will be covered under the scheme, which is aimed at transforming the lives of an estimated 1.08 crore women. The beneficiaries will receive Rs 50,000 in five years -Rs 10,000 in two installments in a year. The money will be credited to their bank accounts on International Women’s Day (March 8) and on Rakshya Bandhan. On the day, a coordination meeting chaired by chief secretary Manoj Ahuja was held at Lok Seva Bhawan. The chief secretary said since a large gathering of women from across the state has been planned, the state administration is making extensive preparations for smooth conduct of the event. Various committees headed by senior bureaucrats have been formed to monitor day-to-day activities.
Meanwhile, Titilagarh police arrested a staff of a Jana Seva Kendra for allegedly charging money from applicants to fill up Subhadra Yojana forms.