State gives Rs 3,600 crore aid to about 50L beneficiaries
Kolkata: Standing by the side of the people and to alleviate their financial woes during the Covid-triggered crisis the Mamata Banerjee government has spent an astounding sum of nearly Rs 3,600 crore and extended support by provideing financial aid to 50 lakh beneficiaries through its social pension scheme 'Jai Bangla' at the time the pandemic.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced of bringing all social schemes under 'Jai Bangla' by increasing the same to Rs 1,000 for each of the beneficiaries in March from a rally at Kaliaganj and they started receiving it from April.
Incidentally, the Covid wave hit Bengal in mid-March and subsequently the nationwide lockdown was also imposed. As a result, the state government had decided to give the pension of two months together - Rs 2,000 - in one go. The pension of April and May, June and July and August and September were given together. Finally ahead of this Durga Puja, the beneficiaries are also receiving the pension for the months of October and November.
A senior official of the state Finance department said: "As per the recent data the total expenditure of the state government to give pension of two months together is Rs 1,000 crore and 50 lakh people are reaping the benefit of the scheme at present."
"Including the pension for the month of October and November, the total expenditure stands at around Rs 3,600 crore", the official said adding that the number of beneficiaries has gone up as compared that was at the initially, as it is a dynamic process.
As a result at present Rs 1,000 crore is needed for two months. It was on March 26, the state government had released Rs 1164 crore to provide pension of the months of April and May together in advance. Subsequent and similar steps were taken for the next consecutive months as well.
The schemes those comes under the umbrella of 'Jai Bangla' scheme include 'Taposili Bandhu' and 'Jai Johar' for the elderly people above 60 years from schedule caste and schedule tribe respectively, 'Manabik' for differently-abled people, old-age pension, widow pension, farmers' old-age pension, old-age pension for fishermen, artisans and handloom weaves and elderly folk artistes under 'Lok Prasar Prakalpa'.
The state government continued giving the pension at the beginning of a month and that's too in advance of a month despite severe financial crunch as the revenue generation has nosedived and it benefited the lakhs of people when all means of livelihood had almost came to a standstill due to the lockdown.
