Punjab Government on Wednesday started disbursement of its monthly financial assistance scheme for women and CM Mann launched the scheme by digitally transferring the first instalments directly into bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.
Under the scheme, women belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category will receive ₹1,500 every month. Women from the General and other eligible categories will receive ₹1,000 per month.
State government said it has released payments for three months together and the amount is expected to start reflecting in bank accounts of beneficiaries from Wednesday.
Speaking at the launch program, CM Mann said the government has fulfilled its commitment to provide financial assistance to women across Punjab and said the scheme will continue in the future as well. "This scheme will never be discontinued. We have fulfilled the promise we made to the women of Punjab" the Chief Minister said.
Mann said the initiative has been introduced to support and empower women and to recognise their contribution to society and he also said the government is ensuring that financial assistance reaches beneficiaries directly through DBT system. According to CM Mann the use of Direct Benefit Transfer will help ensure transparency in delivery of welfare schemes by sending the money directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts.
The monthly honorarium scheme is one of Punjab Government's flagship welfare initiatives and it aims to provide direct financial support to eligible women across state through regular monthly payments. The government has said the first instalments have now been released and eligible beneficiaries are expected to receive the amount in their bank accounts starting Wednesday.
The released funds have been allotted under two different budget heads and the first budget head is for General category and the second budget head is for Scheduled Castes for providing financial assistance to resident women in Punjab.
Under General category Patiala has received highest allocation of Rs 66.60 crore that is followed by Sangrur which has been allotted Rs 58.80 crore and Gurdaspur which has received Rs 48.60 crore while other major allocations under General category include Shri Muktsar Sahib with Rs 38.40 crore, Amritsar with Rs 36.90 crore, Moga with Rs 36.60 crore, Jalandhar with Rs 35.10 crore, Mansa with Rs 33.60 crore, Bathinda with Rs 28.50 crore, Malerkotla with Rs 24.90 crore and Faridkot with Rs 22.50 crore.
Further allocations include Hoshiarpur with Rs 19.80 crore, Ludhiana and Rupnagar with Rs 18.30 crore each, Fazilka with Rs 13.20 crore, Ferozepur with Rs 12.90 crore, Tarn Taran with Rs 12.30 crore, Kapurthala and Pathankot with Rs 6.90 crore each, SBS Nagar with Rs 5.40 crore, Fatehgarh Sahib with Rs 4.20 crore and SAS Nagar with Rs 2.10 crore.
Under Scheduled Caste category Jalandhar has received highest allocation of Rs 53.55 crore while the next highest allocation is for Shri Muktsar Sahib which has received Rs 40.05 crore. Sangrur has been allotted Rs 32.85 crore, Moga has received Rs 29.25 crore, Patiala has been allotted Rs 28.80 crore and Mansa has received Rs 26.10 crore meanwhile other allocations under this category include Amritsar with Rs 21.15 crore, Hoshiarpur with Rs 20.25 crore, Faridkot with Rs 20.70 crore, Bathinda with Rs 18 crore, Fazilka and Gurdaspur with Rs 17.55 crore each, Ludhiana with Rs 15.75 crore, Ferozepur with Rs 11.70 crore, Malerkotla with Rs 10.80 crore, Tarn Taran with Rs 7.20 crore, Rupnagar and SBS Nagar with Rs 6.30 crore each, Kapurthala and Pathankot with Rs 5.85 crore each, Barnala with Rs 5.40 crore, Fatehgarh Sahib with Rs 4.05 crore and SAS Nagar with Rs 1.35 crore.
