PANAJI
The monsoons may have veered away from Goa, but political sops continue to rain on the state’s electorate.
The All India Trinamool Congress on Saturday announced another political bonanza for women in Goa, promising Rs 5,000 per woman head of the household per month, irrespective of caste, religion or any income criteria, if the party comes to power in the 2022 state assembly polls.
Addressing a press conference in Panaji to launch the flagship scheme, ahead of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC founder Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Goa, the party’s Lok Sabha MP and Goa in-charge Mahua Moitra said that the ‘Griha Laxmi’ scheme has already been tried and tested in West Bengal and would help revive the state’s Covid and mining ban-stricken economy.
“The ‘Griha Laxmi’ initiative is a pioneering and transformative scheme for the people of Goa. The scheme has already been implemented in West Bengal. The monthly benefit of Rs 5,000 will be made available through direct benefit cash transfer. 3.51 lakh households will be covered under the scheme,” the Lok Sabha MP said. Moitra said that the budgetary implication of the scheme would be around Rs 1,500 crore to Rs. 2,000 crore, while also promising wider coverage of households as compared to the current Griha Aadhar scheme, which covers only 1.5 lakh households in Goa currently.
“If a woman gets Rs 5000 in her hand, she can buy clothes for the children and medicine. That money goes into the economy faster. The multiplier effect is faster,” Moitra further said, adding that TMC party workers would be taking the flagship scheme to every house in Goa, in its ongoing door-to-door campaign.
The TMC’s ‘Griha Laxmi’ initiative comes days after Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal promised to upgrade the Goa government’s Griha Aadhar Scheme by increasing the anti-inflation allowance from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500, while also promising an allowance of Rs 1,000 for every adult woman in the coastal state.
