Journalism of Courage
THE DISTRICT administration of Pune has decided to increase the coverage of all the social welfare schemes offered by the state government by identifying maximum deserving persons. As per the official data, the district has fared poorly in most of the schemes this year, with some of them having zero takers.
Pune district has a population of over 1.60 crore, of which nearly 50 lakh comprise the rural population. According to officials, over 1 lakh families live below poverty line (BPL). Of these, benefits of welfare schemes are reaching less than 10 per cent. In the next one-and-a-half months, the administration is planning to conduct intensive campaigns and door-to-door identification of those deserving, they added.
Pune District Collector Saurabh Rao said, “BPL data is dismal, which means our machinery has not been effective in reaching out to the larger public and identifying those in need.”
For instance, only 20 of the sex workers rescued by police or NGOs are covered under the pension scheme. While a pension scheme meant for deprived women and a scheme for families whose sole bread winner committed suicide had no takers this year.
According to the taluka-wise statistics provided by the district administration, about 1.22 lakh families fall under the BPL category. Despite such high numbers, pension schemes meant for elderly persons, widows and differently abled persons get more applicants.
For instance, the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Anudaan Yojana has 30,818 beneficiaries — highest in the district — while the Maharashtra Shravan Bal Seva Rajya Nivruttivetan Yojana has 23,226 beneficiaries, the Indira Gandhi Yojana for elderly persons has 10,074, the Indira Gandhi National Pension Scheme for widows has 653 and the Indira Gandhi National Pension Scheme for differently abled persons has 116.
Figures of persons seeking medical schemes for treatment of tuberculosis, cancer, HIV and leprosy have not been impressive either, said officials.
So far, there are only 204 beneficiaries for HIV, 44 for TB, 24 for cancer, which covers just 5 to 7 per cent of the deserving population. The campaign is set to commence on November 25.
It will start with awareness workshops, programmes and Gram Sabha meetings. Thereafter, the officials in charge will scrutinise and identify the beneficiaries. Documentation for the same will continue till the end of the year. The district collector said a special Gram Sabha meeting will be held between November 25 and December 3.
“Similarly, conventions for every scheme will be organised at taluka and gram panchayat levels. Special conventions for schemes meant for the differently abled and those intending to avail the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Anudaan Yojana will be organised,” he added.
All the forms should be submitted to the Collector’s Office before January 15, 2018, he said.
