MADHYA PRADESH: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday reached out to women in the BJP-ruled State by launching a scheme to provide ₹1,000 monthly aid.
Addressing a gathering of women at Jamboree Maidan in the M.P. capital, the Chief Minister knelt before the audience with folded hands and said, “Pranam and Namaskar… you mean Durga, Laxmi and Saraswati to me”, and announced that “Ladli Behna Sena” will be formed to straighten wrongdoers.
He rolled out the ‘Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana’ by unveiling the plaque of the scheme with remote control and filling out an application form for a woman.
Under the scheme every woman between the age of 23 and 60 years with an annual family income of under Rs 2.5 lakh and those owning less than five acre of land and non-tax payers will be eligible for Rs 1000 per month that would be credited to their bank accounts. By providing this amount to the sisters, the entire family will also be benefitted. Applications for the scheme will be filled from March 25 to April 30.
Mr. Chouhan said he rolled out ‘Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana’ (under which the government provides financial help to married couples intending to end the dowry menace) after he became the Chief Minister (in November 2005), and the Ladli Laxmi Yojana for the girl child to turn her “lakhpati”. Under the “Ladli Laxmi” scheme, 30,000 is deposited by the State Government at the birth of a girl, followed by more instalments. “The beneficiary gets 1.18 lakh after she turns 30,” he added.
Through the ‘Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Scheme’, the government aims to reach out to one crore women in the State, where Assembly polls are to be held at the end of this year. A provision of ₹8,000 crore has been made for the scheme in the State Budget presented in the Assembly recently.
“Potential beneficiaries can submit forms from March 15 to April 30. After scrutiny, a list of beneficiaries will be put out on May 1 and the final list on May 31. The beneficiaries will start receiving financial aid in their accounts from June 10 and every month thereafter,” Mr. Chouhan said.