Yogi scraps smartphone scheme of SP

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. (File Photo)

THE ADITYANATH government has scrapped Akhilesh regime’s pet project, the ‘Samajwadi Smart Phone Yojana’, under which people were promised free distribution of smartphones. More than 1.4 crore people — most of them youths — have registered online for the scheme. When contacted, Additional Chief Secretary (IT and Electronics) Sanjiv Saran confirmed that the scheme has been scrapped and registration stopped.

While the department gave no reason for the move, sources said the government did not want to implement the scheme, as it would be a huge burden on the state exchequer. In October, 2016, the Akhilesh government had launched the scheme, calling it the “biggest attempt to bridge the digital divide”, which would help people connect with the schemes of the state government. Akhilesh Yadav had also launched an official web portal where people could register for smartphones.

Those applying for the scheme had to be residents of UP, above 18 years of age and finished high school. Besides, the applicant’s family income had to be below Rs 6 lakh per annum. The SP government had said that the phones would be distributed in the second half of 2017.

In January, online registration for the scheme was stopped following an order of the Election Commission after the BJP filed a complaint in this regard. Earlier this month, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered that the execution of the Samajwadi Pension Scheme — a flagship welfare scheme of the Akhilesh government — be put on hold till further orders.

The CM has already ordered probes into over half-a-dozen projects launched during the SP regime.