State sets Dec 31 deadline to get 8,000 more youth under Gatidhara

Kolkata: The state Transport department has set December 31 as the deadline to bring 8,000 unemployed youth under the Gatidhara scheme.

Gatidhara scheme is one of the dream projects of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and so far, 15,700 people have been benefitted out of it including 2,000 who received the sanctioned letters on Wednesday.

Suvendu Adhikari, the state Transport minister, said: "There is a target to bring 10,000 unemployed youth under the Gatidhara scheme in the financial year 2017-18. We have given sanction letters to 2,000 beneficiaries on Wednesday and our aim is complete the entire process of giving the same to the rest 8,000 by the end of December."

Adhikari was speaking in a programme organised at Paribahan Bhavan II in Kasba where the sanctioned letters were handed over to the beneficiaries.

Under the project, the state government gives a financial assistance of Rs one lakh to a beneficiary to buy a vehicle. A beneficiary usually deposits the amount as the initial payment to a bank that provides the rest amount as loan for the vehicle that has to be used for commercial purposes.

In a bid to bring 10,000 people under Gatidhara project in this fiscal, a total amount of Rs 94 crore has been sanctioned. Moreover, this is the first time in the past three financial years when 10,000 people are going to get the benefit and the process of taking new applications had started in May-June. It may be recalled that in the 2015-16 fiscal, 5,200 were brought under the umbrella while 8,500 people were brought under the scheme in the 2016-17 financial year.

Morover, the state Transport department has also made it possible to go for online applications to get luxury car permits under the Gatidhara project from the State Transport Authority (STA) and the move was taken to make the process of application simpler. Now, one does not have to stand in long queues in front of the STA to get an appointment for the interview which is essential to get the permit.

One just needs to visit the website of the state Transport department that is www.transport.wb.gov.in and key in all necessary details to apply for the appointment. The process of sanctioning Rs one lakh financial assistance to buy the car under Gatidhara scheme starts once the permit is given followed by the interview at the STA.

The scheme was introduced to create opportunities for youth and it has immensely helped thousands of people.