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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin Monday said 1.06 crore women are eligible for the monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 under the government’s flagship women entitlement scheme Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai Thittam. He said around 1.63 crore applications have been received till now to avail benefits under the scheme, a pre-poll promise by the DMK.
Stalin virtually reviewed the arrangements from his office in Chennai before the scheme’s rollout on September 15, the birth anniversary of former chief minister C N Annadurai. He noted that a sum of Rs 12,000 crore would be allocated for this scheme annually, the highest for a social welfare scheme by the state government.
To be eligible for the benefit, a woman should have an annual family income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh and own less than five acres of wetland and 10 acres of dry land. Additionally, her household’s yearly domestic power consumption should be less than 3,600 units. Each family can nominate one woman member on the ration card for the benefit.
The government will deposit the monthly dole directly into the bank accounts of women heads of families. “ATM cards will be provided to all beneficiaries in a phased manner. The authorities should ensure that the beneficiaries do not have difficulty withdrawing the dole,” Stalin said.
The chief minister told officials to add a toll-free number alongside the SMS that would be sent to beneficiaries on September 15 on his behalf to report if they face any difficulty in withdrawing money from their bank accounts.
He added that the officials should send an SMS to those who submitted their application but have not been shortlisted to explain why their applications failed to meet the cut.
“If such messages are sent, most of them would be satisfied. Few might have doubts and may apply again, and we should give that opportunity to them. If we provide such opportunities, people will trust this government,” Stalin said.
He also called for proper arrangements and a help desk. Officials should be deployed to be able to receive complaints from those women who have not been selected under the scheme, explain to them the reason behind the rejection and assure them that their applications will be scrutinised.
“This is very important. Even if we fail to implement this in one area and if some problem arises, it will become a huge issue across the state, so authorities should be mindful about this,” Stalin told officials during the meeting attended by Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena and other senior bureaucrats.
He also advised district collectors to monitor whether the association between the government, banks and the public is smooth in implementing this scheme.
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