Govt plans eligibility test for flagship schemes

CM announces review of Griha Aadhar, Laadlirrthe goan I networkrPANAJIrrSeeking to rubbish reports that the Griha Aadhar scheme has been stopped, Parrikar said that they have only stopped accepting fresh applications as the number of beneficiaries has reached the upper limit. r“The 1.52-lakh limit on the (number of beneficiaries) is the upper extreme. According to me 1.52 lakh beneficiaries also indicate that people whose financial resources are more than Rs 3-lakh may be still in the scheme,” Parrikar said. rTo be eligible for assistance under the Griha Aadhar Scheme, the family annual income needs to be below Rs 3-lakh, besides also not being covered under the Deendayal Social Security Scheme. rHowever, once a person is enrolled as a beneficiary, there is no mechanism to check if family’s income has since risen above the limit. r“Since 7th pay (recommendations have been implemented), the salaries have risen we will review them, reduce those who have crossed the financial limit and give the new beneficiaries,” Parrikar said. rParrikar said that if more than 1.52 lakh families had an income below ₹3-lakh it would mean that nearly half the families in the State had a low income which was “not possible”. r“Let us do the review and then we will consider if they are eligible. They may have been eligible last year but this year they may not be eligible because of rise in salaries,” Parrikar said. rIn case of Laadli Laxmi, Parrikar assured the scheme has not been stopped. r“The money was not being paid because of the election code. Otherwise letters have been issued, money is there in the bank account,” Parrikar said.