THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, December 15: Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Savitribai Phule Kishori Smridhi Yojna for adolescent girls is yet to gain momentum.
The government has launched Abua Awas Yojna this year, overshadowing the years-old Savitribai Phule Yojna. It was a shift in terminology from Mukhyamantri Sukanya Yojna in 2019 to Savitribai Phule Yojna in 2023.
Soren’s scheme was billed to be a game changer and followed the Ladli Behna Yojna, launched by ex-MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, which proved a tremendous electoral elixir to the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.
Savitribai Phule Kishori Samriddhi Yojana
This scheme aims to expand education among girls and support them in completing their higher education. Named after one of the first female teachers in India, the government, under this scheme, provides financial assistance of up to Rs 40,000 in 6 instalments to the girls of the state from class 8 to class 12 to complete their education.
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Abua Awas Yojana
Under Jharkhand Abua Awas Yojana, the state government is providing three-room permanent houses to poor and homeless people who have not been able to benefit from Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Political analysts said that Hemant Soren needs to do better electorally. “He should have made Savitribai Phule Yojna a household name, but now Abua Awas Yojna is launched, the limelight is towards this shelter scheme more than the scheme of the girls,” they pointed out.
No wonder Hemant Soren’s Savitribai Phule scheme is facing hiccups and is expected to face more after its availability for just two daughters in the family.
During his visit here on December 1, Hemant Soren publicly announced that his government had lifted the two-girl limit to avail the Savitribai Phule Yojna, and it will now be open to any number of girls in the family.
No new guidelines
It’s been two weeks now, and there have been no guidelines from the government regarding widening the umbrella coverage for girls under the Savitribai Phule Yojna.
Many applications are being filed at the ‘Sarkar aap ke Dwar’ programme from families with more than two girls there for this Yojna. But the people seeking shelter outnumber the girls seeking education assistance.
The officials collect these applications but need to learn how to go about it. There has yet to be an instruction to make this Savitribai Phule Yojna cover beyond two girls per family.
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A video clip went viral where Chief Minister Hemant Soren asked the girls if they were getting the benefit of Savitribai Phule Yojna. When the girls in the crowd said a loud ‘No’, the chief minister looked towards his officer…”
The BJP has preserved this video clip as its most potent ammunition to be used at the time of hustings to charge Hemant Soren for his dual version of Savitribai Phule Yojna.
