Congress to Launch Rs 2.5K Monthly Aid to Women from February

Hyderabad: The Congress government is likely to launch the Rs 2,500 monthly aid for women, one of three promises under the Maha Lakshmi guarantee, in the first week of February, according to official sources.

Applications that are currently being collected as part of the Praja Palana programme, with January 6 set to be the last date.

Official sources said that instructions were issued to officials to complete online data entry of all the applicants by January 17 and initiate the verification process of Maha Lakshmi applications first to identify beneficiaries.

The government has decided to use ration cards as the prime eligibility criteria to select beneficiaries.

Finance department officials were asked to submit a report on the estimated expenditure the state government would incur per month if it extended Rs 2,500 per month to women, after the government arrives at the exact number of beneficiaries.

Under the Maha Lakshmi guarantee, the Congress government has launched free bus travel for women in government buses on December 10, within two days of assuming office. The other benefit promised under the Maha Lakshmi scheme is LPG cylinders for Rs 500 each.

The free bus travel scheme has proved popular among the citizens, with 6.5 crore women availing of the facility since its launch. Sources said the government was spending around Rs 10 crore per day for the ‘zero tickets’ issued by the TSRTC under this benefit.

The government is seeking applications from people to avail of five of the six guarantees through the Praja Palana programme, which has been underway in all gram panchayats, municipal wards and divisions since December 28.