No funds for girl child scheme

Srikakulam: New entries of names of girl child and release of funds were stopped since March this year under Bangarutalli scheme.

Erstwhile Congress government started the scheme and the present Telugu Desam government has changed its name as Maainti Mahalaxmi, but financial aid to parents of girl child has not been provided. As a result, parents are not coming forward to enter their girl child names and officials concerned are also not conducting awareness about it.

Former chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy introduced the scheme on May 1, 2013 with an aim to improve girl child population to mitigate gender gap by providing financial aid to girls up to degree level. Girls born after May 1, 2013 are eligible under the scheme.

According to guidelines, Rs 2,500 is paid to parents in the first phase after the birth of girl child, paid different sum of amounts to parents of the child for education till degree level. Highest amount of Rs 1 lakh is paid after they complete degree. Due to lack of publicity and effort by the officials concerned from district to village level, parents are not coming forward to register their girl child names under the scheme.

In rural areas across the district, 11,600 applications were submitted under the scheme till March. Of them, only 5,600 girls’ parents were paid first phase amount. In all six municipal towns across the district, 1,300 applications were received under the scheme but only 36 girls’ parents were paid first phase amount.

“Due to lack of funds we are unable to pay even first phase amount to parents of remaining 7,264 girls,” said Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) project director Munukoti Satyannarayana and Indira Kranthi Padham district manager P. Ravi Kumar.