‘Centre has withheld dues of Rs 2K crore under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana’

Kolkata: Minister of state for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya in the Assembly on Monday said that the Centre has withheld state dues of Rs 2000 crore under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana for the year 2023-24.

Bhattacharya said that the state government bears the cost of the scheme at 40:60 per cent ratio. The Centre has stopped giving dues under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY). It is a maternity benefit programme run by the government of India. PMMVU was introduced in 2017 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant women of 19 years of age or above.

“Pregnant women are entitled to get Rs 5,000 under PMMVY scheme for their first child but in case of second issue they will again get Rs 5,000 if the baby is a girl. The money is given in 3 steps,” Bhattacharya said.

This financial assistance is given to women under this scheme just to ensure that they get proper facilities related to food, drinks and their health. The financial assistance comes in separate instalments, pre- and post-pregnancy treatment, and free medicines for pregnant women. Testing facilities are also provided under this scheme. Meanwhile, the Centre has also stopped providing its share of around 25 per cent of funds in connection with the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme against the 75 per cent share that the Bengal government bears. The state government has therefore to spend the entire funds that are utilised for the payment of salaries for the supervisors and other government officials involved in the process of supervising the foods that are served to the children and pregnant women under the ICDS scheme.