Financial crunch hits Bhagyalakshmi membership

BANGALORE: Bhagyalakshmi scheme, one of the flagship programmes launched during former CM B S Yeddyurappa’s government has hit a road block. The Bhagyalakshmi scheme works towards promoting the birth of the girl child and providing financial assistance to below poverty line families.The scheme is facing shortage of funds and technical glitches in sanctioning of funds to the beneficiaries, with the whole process becoming online for the first time.Close to 3.2 lakh beneficiaries of Bhagyalakshmi scheme for the year 2010-11, have not yet got the bonds. Though the deputy directors have signed sanction orders to around 55 per cent of the beneficiaries, they are unlikely to receive the bonds in this financial year, as they are yet to be signed and approved by the director of Women and Child Welfare Department.“We are streamlining the process and everything will be online for the first time from this year, and hence, the delay in sanctioning of bonds,” said Pankaja. N, deputy director, Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD).In the scheme, an amount of Rs 19,300 will be deposited with the financial institution in the name of the first girl beneficiary and Rs 18,350 in the name of the second girl beneficiary of the same family. On attainment of 18 years of age, the girl beneficiary of the family who fulfills the conditions of the scheme will get a maturity amount of Rs 1,00,000.In Bangalore Urban alone, around 14,500 beneficiaries are yet to receive the bonds as the sanction orders are yet to be generated. The officers at the DWCD indicate that it is the duplication of entries which is causing the delay.“There are several duplicate entries in the system and the software does not have the capability to detect the duplicates. Hence the audit process is taking time, delaying the whole process,” said M C Champa, an officer at the Bangalore Urban DWCD. “Funds shortage and short staffing is another reason for the delay,” she added. During 2011-12, an amount of `407.84 crore was been allocated for distribution of bonds to the beneficiaries and an amount of amount of Rs 200 crore was released for distribution of bonds.With no respite, the National Girl Child Day was celebrated across the country on Tuesday, and the DWCD at the national level highlighted some of the flagship programmes of the government relating to survival, development and protection of girl children.