Nearly three-fourths of the Jharkhand population lives in villages and he wants to ensure that people are not forced to rush to block or district headquarters to claim benefits of welfare schemes, said Chief Minister Hemant Soren during his government’s outreach programme at Chappar Toli village in Gumla district.
The Chief Minister is on a whirlwind tour of the State, visiting every district to make people aware of his government’s welfare measures under the Apki Yojana, Apki Sarkar, Apke Dwar programme.
Promising doorstep delivery of services on Tuesday, Mr. Soren also laid the foundation stone of 105 projects worth ₹402 crore and inaugurated 45 schemes worth ₹64 crore.
The Chief Minister seeks to impress on people that his government is being run from villages, a promise Mr. Soren said he made to them when his party — Jharkhand Mukti Morcha — came to power in 2019.
“I had said that our government would be run from villages and panchayats, and not from Delhi. Your government is coming to your doorstep to solve your problems,” he stressed.
Political analysts said Mr. Soren is getting tremendous response as thousands of people gather to listen to him, while he looks to consolidate his position through a slew of village-centric welfare measures ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls next year.
They said Mr. Soren is banking on a slew of welfare policies to beat the anti-incumbency against his government and offset the fallout of the corruption charges against him in the run-up to the general election.
One such scheme is the Savitribai Phule Kishori Samriddhi Yojana, a scholarship plan for school-going girls. It provides a scholarship of ₹40,000 to them from Class 8 to 12.
Launched earlier this year, the benefit was limited to only two girls per family but the government lifted the bar this month, extending the benefit to all school-going girls in a household. The State government has approved a budget of ₹300 crore for it. Currently, 6.5 lakh girls benefit from the scheme.
‘People hail schemes’
At the programme addressed by the CM, many people applauded the government schemes. Jyoti Kumari, 14, said the scholarship scheme has changed her life as she can now hope to continue her studies.
Studying at a government school in Kasera panchayat of Gumla district, Ms. Kumari sitting in the front row at the function addressed by Mr. Soren said parents often marry off their daughters as soon as they turn 15 or 16 years of age.
“It is very common among tribals to marry off their girls early because parents cannot afford their studies. I am thankful to the CM, who has given students facing financial difficulties an opportunity,” she said.
The other scheme that earned the appreciation of people is the Phulo Jhano Ashirwad Yojana. Under the scheme, those who were previously engaged in brewing countrymade liquor got ₹50,000 in financial aid to make a fresh start. The scheme was launched when Mr. Soren formed the government in 2019.
Sabita Lakda, a beneficiary of the scheme, praises Mr. Soren for the initiative.
“This scheme has changed my life. I am no longer selling hadiya (country brew). I have my own tea shop in Gumla town and earn a good profit of ₹8,000 to ₹12,000 a month. The work I did previously was not respectable,” Ms. Lakda said.
‘Focus on education’
Meanwhile, the CM says his government will be setting up close to 5,000 schools of excellence.
He says the State government is also bearing entire expenses of the children belonging to minorities, Dalit and tribal groups, if they want to study abroad.
“Presently, four children from Gumla are pursuing higher education abroad,” he says, citing his government’s Guruji Student Credit Card Scheme, which provides financial support to students wanting to study abroad.
