62% fake,missing in Maya scheme

It was the most important scheme announced by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on her birthday.

It was the most important scheme announced by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on her birthday,January 15, last year cash for poor. But 62 per cent of the 31 lakh supposed beneficiaries either do not exist or have been found undeserving.

Under the scheme,Mukhyamantri Mahamaya Gareeb Aarthik Madad Yojna,the beneficiaries were to be paid a monthly pension of Rs 300. The lump sum payment of the first six months pension began on November 1 last year,but only 38 per cent of the beneficiaries got it. Of the remaining,12 per cent were said to be missing,and others were found ineligible in a verification drive between November and December 2010,officials said.

The scheme was meant for the poor who do not have BPL cards and dont get benefit of any of the existing welfare schemes. The money was to be paid twice a year. A survey was conducted and meetings of grams sabhas were held to identify such people. In October,a list of 31 lakh persons was drawn up and the first payment of Rs 1,800 per person began on November 1 in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

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Commissioner of Social Welfare Prem Narain said,We had decided that about 31 lakh people will benefit from the scheme this financial year. Each district did a survey and a list of beneficiaries was prepared. He said that during verification more than 50 per cent people were found ineligible,as their family members were either in government service or owned pucca houses. Narain said the corrected lists were being uploaded on intra-department website and monitored. We are getting a website developed so that the list can be accessed by the general public.

An official of the Social Welfare Department,which is the nodal department for the scheme,said,In some districts,it has been found that people in the list dont exist,although this number is small. The government has instructed district magistrates to delete all such names. Officials have been asked to identify new families for inclusion in the list before the CM begins her tour of the state in February.

The districts where less than 50 per cent identified families were found eligible include Firozabad,Allahabad,Kannauj,Gorakhpur,Maharajganj,Jalaun,Gonda,Balrampur,Shravasti,Sant Ravidas Nagar and Sonbhadra.