Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): About 4.37 lakh women have registered themselves till date to draw benefit under state government’s Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana since the eligibility criteria were expanded to include women in 21-23 age group.
The registration will continue till August 20 after which objections will be invited and the final list will be published. The new beneficiaries may get first instalment of Rs 1,000 in September.
On July 10, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced at a function in Indore that women between 21 to 23 years of age would be eligible for receiving benefits under the scheme. He had announced that women from family owning tractors will also get benefit under the scheme. Earlier, the latter were kept out of scheme purview.
According to a Women and Child Development Department official, registration under the new criteria began on July 25 and will continue till August 20. Besides, women in 21-23 age group, women in 21-60 age group from families owning tractors are also eligible to register themselves. The official said that of the new 4.37 lakh applicants, 77,000 have applied under new eligibility criterion related to tractors.
Department officials said 1,25,06,186 married, divorced, widowed and abandoned women in the 23-60 age group benefited under the scheme. The state government transfers Rs 1.209 crore into bank accounts of beneficiaries every month.
The official said that the department had not undertaken formal study to find on what beneficiaries spend their money. However, inputs received from field staff of the department suggest that the beneficiaries were spending on children’s education, buying milk, vegetables and other nutritive eatables besides purchasing medicines for ailing members of their families. Some women are also investing money in small businesses run by them or their family members.
CM to transfer 3rd instalment
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will transfer third instalment into accounts of women beneficiaries in Rewa district on Thursday. Village panchayats and wards will virtually join the event. The activities based on the theme of the Scheme such as rangoli, folk songs, folk dances will be organised in village panchayats and wards.
