MADHYA PRADESH: This is the story of three girls from different parts of Madhya Pradesh whose flagging career goals saw a turnaround due to the timely intervention of the Madhya Pradesh government’s Ladli Laxmi Yojana (LLY), a flagship scheme to uplift the girl child.
Vedika Vaishnav harboured the dream of becoming an income tax officer, which came crashing after her father passed away in 2018; Neha Patel from Jabalpur aimed to be an Indian Police Service officer till her father’s death in 2018 foiled this plan; and Prachi Kori stared at a blank future after she and her mentally challenged mother were abandoned by her father three years. But today, the three girls are reliving their ambitions, courtesy LLY.
The scheme aims at issuing a crackdown on female infanticide, changing the conservative Indian mindset on the upbringing of the girl child, and providing a good substructure for the economic and educational status of families availing this scheme. Under the LLY, the state government purchases National Saving Certificates worth Rs 6,000 for five years. When a girl gains admission to Class 6, she is paid Rs 2,000. When she reaches Class 9, she will receive Rs 4,000. In Class 11, she gets Rs 7,500. During her higher secondary education, she would get Rs 200 per month. On turning 21, she becomes entitled to the remaining amount close to Rs 1 lakh.
“My husband died in 2018 from a heart attack, a few months after the private company he worked for in Pithampur Industrial Area as an electrician shut down. My parents looked after me and my daughter, Vedika. Without the LLY, I could not have arranged for Vedika’s Class 11 studies. Her ambition of becoming an IT officer would have just remained a dream,” said Vedika’s unemployed mother, Taruna Vaishnav.
Kalpana Patel, lives with two kids, a daughter in Class 12 and a son in Class 9 at Raddi Chowki, Jabalpur. After her husband’s death in 2018, she received no help from her relatives and was left to survive on his savings. Her current job as a security guard at a supermarket helps the family stay afloat. “However, had it not been for the annual financial support under the LLY, my daughter would have to discontinue her studies by Class 9-10. I can also manage my son’s education now,” says Patel.
At a small house in Rewa lives the widow Shyam Bai, her daily wage labourer son Amit Kori, a mentally ill daughter Meera and 13-year-old granddaughter Prachi. A few years ago, her husband abandoned Meera and Prachi, but Shyam Bai and son Amit intervened and brought them back home. “The LLY by Shivraj bhaiya ensured Prachi didn’t have to give up education. She is now studying to become a government school teacher,” says Shyam Bai.
Government sources say that in 2016-17, as many as 3, 12,758 ladlis (girls) were registered under the LLY and Rs 889 crore disbursed. The number of registered girls grew to 3, 23,558 in 2017-18 with Rs 941 crore assistance released by the government, followed by 3, 32,595 registered girls with Rs 803.29 crore assistance in 2018-19, and 3, 31,549 girls and Rs 718.95 crore assistance in 2019-20. The number of girls registered (3, 45,064) and the money spent by the government (Rs 1,363.62 crore) was the highest in the Covid (2020-21). Till November 2, a total of 1, 39,415 beneficiaries have benefitted under the LLY.