4 months ago
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On apical of the contiguous further request of astir ₹100 crore towards disbursement of ₹3,000 to each ration cardholders arsenic Pongal gift, the monthly expenditure of the authorities is acceptable to summation by astir ₹20 crore from adjacent period pursuing the determination to disburse the enhanced magnitude of monthly assistance to women heads of BPL families and pension for aged property and destitute persons successful Puducherry.
After days of consultation, the Lieutenant Governor connected Tuesday accorded authorisation for assistance of ₹3,000 arsenic Pongal assistance to each ration cardholders successful the Union Territory. The figure, which is connected a par with the magnitude fixed by the DMK authorities successful Tamil Nadu arsenic Pongal gift, was finalised aft considering suggestions to rise the assistance magnitude successful the scope of ₹4,000 to ₹5,000.
There are astir 3.69 lakh ration cardholders successful the Union Territory. Barring authorities employees and greenish paper holders, the currency assistance volition beryllium provided to others nether allocations made successful the Revised Estimates for 2025-26 by the departments of Women and Child Development, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Adi Dravidar Welfare and Scheduled Tribes Welfare.
“Since the proviso was not budgeted, the Pongal assistance volition beryllium managed with allocations already made to the 3 departments. The wealth volition beryllium credited to the slope relationship of the beneficiaries soon,” said a authorities source.
The disbursement of Pongal assistance comes astatine a clip erstwhile the authorities was successful the process of rolling retired budgetary commitments of expanding aged property pension and fiscal assistance fixed to women heads of BPL families this month. In the existent Budget, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy had committed to enhance monthly fiscal assistance to women heads of BPL families, successful the property radical of 21-54 years who were not covered by different payment schemes, from ₹1, 000 to ₹2,500 and summation aged property and destitute pension by ₹500.
“Both the schemes person received administrative sanction, and we were readying to supply the enhanced allocations from January but that has present been deferred to February. The beneficiaries nether the 2 schemes volition person the enhanced magnitude from adjacent month,” the root said.
Around 72,000 women were receiving a monthly assistance of ₹1,000 aft the strategy was announced successful 2023 owing to which the authorities incurred an expenditure of astir ₹6.5 crore each month. Now, with the hike successful assistance to ₹2,500, the expenditure was to summation by ₹9.25 crore each month.
Similarly, astir 1.91 lakh beneficiaries of aged property and destitute pension volition get a hike of ₹500 per month. The latest hike of aged property pension was the 2nd aft the AINRC-BJP authorities came to powerfulness successful 2021. The authorities has besides added astir 36,000 caller beneficiaries nether the aged property pension scheme. The monthly expenditure for the strategy was acceptable to spell up by ₹10 crore each period from ₹45 crore to ₹55 crore.
