The ambitious scheme of the government to provide financial assistance of ₹ 1 lakh to the most Backward Classes is going through the initial hiccups with people finding it difficult to obtain caste and income certificates in rural areas.
Long queues and several rounds of visits to the MeeSeva centres and the Mandal Revenue Offices is leaving the people exhausted. The summer heat is adding to their woes. While submitting the application is one aspect, the inordinate delay in providing the certificates by the officials is another aspect.
The scheme has received tremendous response with over 2.78 lakh applications submitted so far and several thousands are doing rounds of the offices to obtain the certificates. Officials attribute the delay to technical glitches in the server due to the sudden demand and also officials lacking preparedness to meet such demand.
Continuing its spree of welfare measures for different sections, the State government has launched the scheme aimed at extending financial assistance to families of artisans hailing from backward class communities.
The assistance will be extended to BC caste-based professionals like washermen, Viswabrahmanas, potters and nayee brahmins without bank linkages. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao formally launched the scheme at Mancherial on June 9, celebrated as welfare day as part of the 10th year of State formation.
The government has identified 15 castes among the 136 Backward Classes apart from 38 Most Backward Castes. The income limit for rural areas is ₹1.50 lakh while it is ₹2 lakh for urban areas to be eligible for the scheme. The government has allocated ₹300 crore for the scheme and already released ₹100 crore.
Officials were directed by the Chief Minister to identify the beneficiaries from the poorest of poor sections with consent from district in-charge ministers. Public representatives have been asked to take an active part in the effective implementation of the scheme.
The Chief Minister as well as the ministers asserted that extension of assistance would be a continuous process and cheques would be distributed to beneficiaries on the 15th of every month. Applications should accordingly be submitted online in a transparent manner and the sanctioned amount would be utilised to procure required material and tools of trade.
