AAP govt in Punjab may soon give Rs 1,000 monthly grant to women

Having taken the ruling BJP head on in Delhi for implementing its poll promise of giving Rs 2,500 per month honorarium to women in the national capital, the AAP government in Punjab is struggling to garner resources for rolling out its promised scheme of giving Rs 1,000 financial assistance to women every month.

Discussions for announcing the scheme have been going on and ideas are being exchanged among top strategists of AAP and the Department of Social Security and Development of Women and Children. Though everyone in the government is tight-lipped about the contours being framed for the scheme, considering its huge financial implications, it is being debated if the scheme would be rolled out in the fourth Budget to be presented by the AAP government later this month.

While the political set up in the AAP government is clear that the scheme has to be announced soon, and rolled out after arranging resources, the administrative set-up is looking at arranging finances.

This is because AAP had been breathing down the BJP government’s neck in Delhi for quickly announcing their “Mahila Samriddhi Yojana”.

Often derided by the Opposition over the delay in rolling out the scheme in Punjab, they now want to showcase that they are a party that keeps its word given to voters.

AAP had promised Rs 1,000 financial assistance to all women (aged above 18) in the run up to the 2022 Assembly poll. The state would require Rs 1,010 crore every month to pay the honorarium to around 1.01 crore eligible beneficiaries. Considering the state’s financial condition, it seems to be an uphill task for the government to implement the scheme.

Sources say the honorarium may be given only to poor beneficiaries or those from socially and economically vulnerable sections. The discussion in the AAP government is if they can give the honorarium only to those who are not income tax payees or those who are the only breadwinners in the family.