It may take more than three months for the first installment of Rs 1,000 to be credited to the accounts of women who have applied for the Chief Minister Mahila Samman Yojana, senior Delhi government officials said, citing reasons ranging from the creation of an online portal. Its implementation is the main thing in the agenda of the upcoming assembly elections.
The department said that the plan can be implemented only after the project management unit (PMU) is established after the portal is fully developed, tested and operational. The process of notifying the scheme is expected to take at least three months.
But Chief Minister Atishi has said that there is no need to create posts for PMUs and recruit agencies.
The cabinet is also known to have made some “significant changes” in the proposed scheme, including removing the clause that said the benefit would only be given to women with a family income of less than Rs 3 lakh per annum. Officials also clarified that the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department is free to get modifications in the registration and implementation process, including in the amount disbursed.
Earlier, the finance department had flagged the scheme’s “major fiscal impact”, with the state resources department saying the scheme would push Delhi into a budget deficit as well as a deficit in revenue and capital accounts. He also said that the plan should not be brought to the cabinet without proper study.
The chief minister, however, called the finance department’s approach “obstructive”, officials said.
“It was discussed in the cabinet that the scheme should be rolled out as soon as possible and an installment would reach the first batch of applicants before the elections expected in February,” said a senior government official briefed on the development. The Cabinet meeting held on Thursday approved the plan.
“The battle now is to get and verify applications along with Aadhaar-linked bank accounts on time. Government officials are said to have spoken to their counterparts in Maharashtra and said they have partnered with banks for this purpose… But in Delhi, it is from NCR and other states. May challenge both the migratory and floating population,” the official added. .
Officials told the cabinet that the annual allocation of Rs 4,560 crore for the scheme and around Rs 2.5 crore would be spent on salaries of the proposed 49 employees, infrastructure costs and office expenses.
One problem flagged by the WCD department in the implementation of the plan in the current financial year is that there is less than four months remaining.
While the proposed portal, which will see the implementation of the scheme, is yet to be created – which will take at least three months, according to the department, it is understood – the Delhi Legislative Assembly elections were held in January- February.
It is also found that the department has flagged that activities related to recruitment and tender cannot be done while the model code of conduct continues, affecting the proposed deadline.
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