Ahead of polls, ruling BJP launches "biggest" social welfare scheme

GUWAHATI:

The ruling BJP in Assam, on Tuesday, took a huge leap ahead of next year’s Assembly elections by launching what it claims to be the biggest social welfare scheme in the state.

Under the Orunodoi scheme, one woman from each of the 20 lakh beneficiary households and families (with a population of about 90 lakh in 33 districts) would be entitled to a monthly benefit of Rs 830.

The composite income of each family would have to be less than Rs 2 lakh a year, to be eligible for the scheme benefits.

Assam Health Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that it was a matter of great personal pride to witness the launch of the state’s biggest social welfare scheme.

“It is an ambitious and a momentous step towards socio-economic empowerment,” he said while addressing several thousands of beneficiaries.

Sarma said that they designed the scheme by keeping in mind the fact that women are the primary caretakers of households.

“The women need to ensure that they have a bank account under Jan Dhan Yojana,” Sarma said.

He further stated that the scheme would help marginalised households of Assam for purchasing essential commodities like nutritional items and medicine.

The state government would incur an expenditure of Rs 2,400 crore annually for the ambitious scheme.

The money for November would be transferred to the accounts of the beneficiaries in the first week of December, he said.

An Orunodoi call centre was also set up for beneficiaries to receive the necessary information and make any queries or complaints.

(Edited by Ladiangti Rani)

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