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The govt has promised a monthly aid of Rs 2,500 to eligible women (Archive)
Non-availability of consolidated data of eligible beneficiaries, time-consuming verification process, and delay in developing an online portal are among the reasons behind the delay in implementing the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana, one of the top poll promises of the ruling BJP. Under the scheme, the government has promised a monthly aid of Rs 2,500 to women with a household income under Rs 2.5 lakh.
The BJP initially promised to deliver the scheme by March 8, International Women’s Day. However, it was approved by the Delhi Cabinet after the deadline passed, and a budget of Rs 5,100 crore was allocated.
The government constituted a high-level committee headed by CM Rekha Gupta and ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh, Kapil Mishra, and Ashish Sood as members to finalise the eligibility criteria, norms, and implementation of this scheme.
Asked about the reasons behind the delay and expected launch of the scheme, the CM said, “I believe that the time we’ve had so far is a very short period to implement a detailed and foolproof plan. It needs to be fully prepared and presented to the public.” She said verification of eligible candidates will be completed, and registration will take place.
“As I have repeatedly said, the Mahila Samriddhi Scheme is not a one-time scheme. It is meant to reach every single woman who comes from a poor family… We do not want even a single eligible woman to be left out… We don’t want to implement it in a hurry,” she added.
“We want this scheme to be implemented in a way that an eligible woman can apply every month for financial assistance… Work is on to create a detailed plan… It will soon be implemented,” the CM added.
The Delhi government has decided to create a unique data hub with consolidated data to identify eligible candidates, according to officials. To collect this data, the department has started verification of ration card and BPL (below poverty line) card holders to weed out ineligible candidates.
The IT department, which is executing the data hub project, has selected six departments — Department of Women and Child Development, Social Welfare, Revenue, MCD, Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, and Labour — on a pilot basis to implement its ambitious Unified Data Hub (UDH) project, which will consolidate data from various departments in a single space to ensure only eligible people avail the benefits of welfare schemes.
Moreover, sources said, the committee formed to decide the eligibility norms for the Rs 2,500 scheme met last week under the chairmanship of the CM.
Defining a family as husband, wife, and children; capping annual family income at Rs 2.5 lakh; limiting the scheme to women aged between 21 and 60 years; one beneficiary per family; and non-owner of a vehicle — these are among the eligibility criteria being considered for the scheme. “The scheme is likely to be implemented before the Bihar elections, which are in November,” an official said.
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