KOLKATA: Kanyashree applications touched 2.5 crore in Bengal on Tuesday.
The 10-day-long Duare Sarkar programme drew 48.1 lakh applicants. An official said that till Tuesday, 2,49,60,912 applications were submitted for the Kanyashree scheme, of which 2.46 crore were sanctioned.
Kanyashree, which has received worldwide accolades, is aimed at encouraging girls to continue their studies. On turning 18, under the scheme, all unmarried girls get a cash transfer of Rs 25,000 if she continues studies. The annual cash transfer had been raised from Rs 750 to Rs 1,000 for all girls in the age group of 13 to 18 years, the official said.
During the Duare Sarkar camps, the state government has been emphasizing to provide 24 categories of services at doorsteps. All the applications received so far would be processed during the first week of June, an officials said. On Tuesday, the footfall recorded at the camps for various services was 6.3 lakh. During the Paray Samadhan campaign, held between May 5 and May 20, and Duare Samadhan camps, held between May 21 and May 31, the footfall was 52.9 lakh.
In the camps, Swasthya Sathi card was in high demand and 2.2 crore cards had been issued, the official said. He said the health scheme card was issued in the name of the female head of the family as part of women’s empowerment. Around 90% of the population of Bengal has been covered under this scheme and 21 lakh people have benefited from it as it provides a health care coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family. He said the Swasthya Sathi App could be downloaded from Google Playstore. In Midnapore West, 22,363 applications were submitted for Swastya Sathi.
The camps also witnessed a rush for Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, which ensures a direct bank transfer of Rs 500 per month per woman without government jobs in the age group of 25 and 60 years; those from reserved categories, are entitled to Rs 1,000 per month. So far, there had been 1.7 crore applications for it and after the final count, it might be close to 2 crore, an official said.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee implemented Lakshmir Bhandar after coming to power for the third time in a row in 2021 as it was part of her electoral promise. She also launched student credit cards, providing loans up to Rs 10 lakh to youngsters for higher studies. The CM had been reiterating that the camps should also be used for providing SC and ST certificates as many eligible residents did not have the certificates. The camps also saw a high demand for pension applications, along with Krishak Bondhu cards.
