Belagavi: The state government which claim to be 'pro-poor' does not have funds for the funeral expenses of all those belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families who die.
The scheme of extending financial assistance to poor and downtrodden families to perform last rites of their near and dear ones was launched on June 8, 2006. Originally the government was paying Rs 1000 but hiked it to Rs 5,000 with effect from April 1, 2015. In 2014-15, 60050 families had been given Rs 1,000 each. In 2015-16 and 2016-17, 14746 were given Rs 5000 each.
Replying to Mr Raghunath Malkapure (BJP) in the Council on Wednesday, Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa said till now, 64,184 persons had taken benefit of the scheme. In the current fiscal, the department had received 32,781 applications seeking assistance of which 25,801 cases had been disposed of. As many as 2225 applications had been rejected. Still 4755 applications were pending.
The minister said Rs 32 crore was required to dispose of all applications received till date. But, the government had reserved only Rs 5 crore in the state budget. "I am constrained to write a strongly worded letter to the head of the finance department to immediately release Rs 32 crore to clear all pending applications in one go".
Mr Kota Srinivasa Pujari of BJP said Bapuji Kendras had been entrusted with the task of distributing 'funeral expenses' among BPL families. However, the process had been delayed. The gram panchayats could be asked to process the applications and distribute Rs 5000 to deserving families and later the amount could be reimbursed.
Mr Malkapure stressed the need for simplification of guidelines for the poor. The funeral expenses would reach the families concerned after two or three months which was of no help, he asserted.
Mr Kagodu Thimmappa said at least one month was required to go through documents before sanctioning the amount. All efforts would be made to ensure assistance reaches the families as early as possible.
