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The Delhi Government will launch a major food security programme on December 15, under which a monthly cash subsidy of Rs 600 will be transferred directly into the bank account of the senior-most female member of two lakh poor families not covered by either below poverty line scheme (BPL) or Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).
The Government has tied up with the six leading banks for implementation of the ‘Dilli Annashree Yojana’ and camps are being organised across the city to help the identified poor families open no-frills bank accounts based on their Aadhaar numbers.
Officials said a total of 827 bank branches are being involved in opening no-frills accounts.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has requested UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to launch the scheme which will be implemented with retrospective effect from April 1.
The Delhi Government claimed that the scheme will be the first important initiative by any State to go beyond the traditional definition of poverty and to provide citizens with the food security through cash transfers.
The Government will spend around Rs 150 crore in the current fiscal for the scheme. Officials said each of the beneficiary families will be provided cash subsidy of Rs 4,800 on December 15 as entitlements for the past eight months. The beneficiaries have been identified through a survey.
Around four lakh poor households are getting subsidised food items under BPL and AAY schemes currently and those who are not covered by these two schemes will get the direct cash subsidies under the new programme which was announced by Dikshit while presenting the annual budget in May. The officials said the Government was also considering offering the cash subsidy to the four lakh beneficiaries who are currently getting subsidised food items.
The Samajik Suvidha Sangam, the implementing arm of Mission Convergence, has been tasked to implement the food programme. Mission Convergence is a major programme of the Delhi Government which was launched to ensure empowerment of the vulnerable sections through public-private community partnerships.
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