Bhagyalakshmi bond eludes 4,150 beneficiaries

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Aug 14, 2012 : 18,667 girls were sanctioned bonds since 2006-07 in Dakshina Kannada

As many as 4,150 eligible beneficiaries in Dakshina Kannada district are yet to get the bonds for the Bhagyalakshmi scheme.

The former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly session. The scheme was launched by the State government in 2006-07, when the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance was in power, and 18,667 people had registered in the district till June end.

Significantly, 468 girls, from below poverty line families, whose parents had applied in 2008-09, still await the Rs. 1 lakh bonds. Ironically, as Department of Women and Child Development officials pointed out, Mr. Yeddyurappa, who pulled up Minister Kalakappa G. Bandi for the delay in the issuing of the bonds, was the Chief Minister during this period.

Seven applications from 2009-10 had been put on hold as there was a problem with the application forms and the signatures of parents, said an official. A total of 2,277 beneficiaries from 2011-12 and 1,398 beneficiaries applied in the first four months of this year have not received the bonds yet.

While the scheme aims at providing financial support for girl children from economically backward families for their education, health and marriage expenses, it seeks to cease child marriages and female infanticide.

The former Chief Minister had taken to task Ministers in the current government for the delay in the issuing of bonds.

Computer glitch

Officials offer a plethora of reasons for the delay. The delay in 2008-09, said Sundar Poojary, Child Development Project Officer, was due to a computer error and was put on hold after the computer disk submitted to the Life Insurance Corporation by the department could not be read.

During that year, only 108 people were given bonds in the district. “Even though there had been a lot of pressure on us from gram panchayats on this issue, we stumbled upon the exact number of beneficiaries when we were reviewing each beneficiary. Over 14,000 applications were examined and among them we found 468 people who had not yet received the bonds. It is only now that the government has said they can be issued bonds,” Mr. Poojary said. When asked about the delay in the issue of bonds last year, officials said the popularity of the scheme had increased after submission of BPL cards were made mandatory instead of income certificates in 2011. This resulted in the backlog.

“Moreover, newer eligibility criteria were introduced, like sterilisation of parents after the third child, and stricter scrutiny of criteria such as immunisation and anganwadi education sees delays in the taluk level,” an official said.

“However, 566 bonds were issued last month, and similarly, we expect the LIC to deliver the remaining bonds within the end of the year,” the official added.

 

Courtesy : The Hindu