With the Assembly elections approaching, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a surprise move, on Tuesday advanced the launch of Banglar Yuvasathi – allowance scheme for educated jobless youth – from April 1, instead of August 15.
Addressing mediapersons at Nabanna, the state secretariat, the chief minister said, “Earlier in our interim Budget, we had said that the Yuvasathi scheme will start from Independence Day, August 15, this year. We have now decided to start the scheme from April 1 since the financial year starts on that day… Educated unemployed youth will start receiving a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 under the scheme from April 1.”
While announcing the scheme in the interim Budget on February 5, Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya had told the Assembly that Rs 5,000 crore will be allotted for the Yuvasathi scheme in the next financial year’s Budget.
Meanwhile, the chief minister on Tuesday also announced that the government will hold a 12-day enrollment camp to enlist the beneficiaries of the scheme in every 294 Assembly constituencies from February 15. The camps will be held till February 26, between 10 am and 5 pm, where applicants can submit documents and receive an acknowledgement receipt on the spot.
She also said that beneficiaries of the scheme would continue to be eligible for existing scholarships. “The ‘Yuvasathi’ programme is for those who have passed the Madhyamik (Class 10 state board) exams and are aged 21-40 years… They will be eligible for any scholarship, Aikyasree, Medhasree, smart card schemes like ‘Sikhasree’, and Swami Vivekananda merit-cum-scholarship.”
She, however, added that those who are already receiving benefits under other state government welfare schemes, apart from the scholarships, would not be eligible for the ‘Yuvasathi’ scheme. “If they are not receiving funds under any other scheme, Rs 1,500 will be provided till they get a job. It will be reviewed after five years,” she said.
On why applications will not be accepted online, the TMC supremo said the time was short. “The verification and survey will take some time, and in the process, some may be deprived.”
She also announced that, along with the Yuvasathi scheme, people will be able to register their names for another two schemes – one for landless farmers who will get Rs 4,000 per year monetary help, and the other in which farmers will get a shallow pump power connection for free.
The chief minister said that landless sharecroppers will start receiving financial assistance from April. The assistance of Rs 2,000 each during the Kharif and Rabi seasons was announced in the interim budget presented last Thursday.
At each of these camps, there will be representatives from four departments – Sports and Youth Affairs, Agriculture, Power, and Irrigation departments.
Anyone aged between 21 and 40 years and have passed the Madhyamik (Class X state board exam) is eligible for the scheme.
Monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 till the beneficiary gets a job. The CM on Tuesday said beneficiaries of the scheme would continue to be eligible for existing scholarships like Aikyasree, Medhasree.
Enlisting Camps to be held in every Assembly seat from February 15 to 26.
Budgetary Allocation MoS (Finance) Chandrima Bhattacharya had announced to allot Rs 5,000 crore in the next Budget.