It’s Raining Cash In Tamil Nadu: State Government Announces Three Money Transfer Schemes In Three Consecutive Months

After stealing a march over the opposition DMK by stitching together a formidable electoral alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is all set to roll out a massive special financial assistance scheme for people below poverty line.

Under this scheme Rs 2,000 cash will be transferred to the bank accounts of 60 Lakh Below poverty line (BPL) families, reports News Today.

The program announced under the state budget presented by Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvan, will be inaugurated by CM Palaniswami on former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s birth anniversary (24 February).

As per the state government, the amount will directly be deposited in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries by 28 February.

While announcing the scheme, the AIADMK government said that the cash assistance was being given as a relief measure for people living in districts devastated by Cyclone Gaja and also owing to a drought-like situation in other parts of the state following a monsoon failure.

The cash assistance program is estimated to cost the state exchequer Rs 1,200 crore. The funding for the program would be allocated in the supplementary estimates for the year 2018-19. In all, 35 lakh BPL families in rural areas and 25 lakh BPL families in urban areas are expected to benefit from this assistance.

In January, AIADMK Government had distributed Rs 1,000 for all ration card holders in the state for celebrating the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal.

Pongal gift hampers containing raw rice, sugar, raisins, cashew nut, cardamom and sugarcane were also distributed to all cardholders, to mitigate the impact of Gaja cyclone in Cauvery delta and the widespread drought in northern districts.

The Pongal gift for 2.01 crore family cardholders in the State cost the government a whopping Rs 2,010 crore. This gift hamper scheme came at the cost of Rs 300 crore.

The state government is also working on a speedy implementation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of giving Rs 6,000 annually to farmers. It will also be kick-started 24 February. The amount will be provided in three instalments of Rs 2,000 each. The transfer of the first instalment is expected to continue till 31 March.

Around 75 lakh small and marginal farmer families holding of up to two hectares of land in Tamil Nadu will be getting Rs 6,000 under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN).

On 9 February, the state government formed a 13-member committee headed by Commissioner of Revenue Administration (CRA) K Satyagopal to monitor the implementation of this scheme. Of the 13 members, 12 will be IAS officers.