Months after the Punjab government widened the scope of the scope of the Shagun Scheme to include girls from economically backward class and Christian community,besides those belonging to the schedule caste,officials say it may not have enough funds to credit it into the beneficiaries bank accounts. However,this has not stopped the state social welfare department from updating the list of the beneficiaries for the scheme,under which an amount of Rs 15,000 is given online. In fact,the department is in a quandary as it has not been able to locate a number of beneficiaries. As per the official figures,nearly 72,000 cases under Shagun scheme are lying pending since December 2009. Ironically,an official from the social welfare department,requesting not be named in print,said a majority of the beneficiaries are not furnishing the details of their bank accounts because they are not sure when and if money will be credited into it. They have a reason to question the government sincerity. Sources in the social welfare department confirmed that as of now except for updating the list,they are not able to credit the money into beneficiaries accounts as they have no budget to clear the pending cases. The online transfer of money will begin once the budget is released to the department. For the 72,000 cases (from December 2009 to March 2011) a budget if Rs 108 crore is required. Ironically,not a single person in the pending list has been given the Shagun amount. Recently,the state government did release some money,but it is being used to clear the cases from the current financial year. The SAD MLA from Dakha constituency in Ludhiana had recently alleged that the officers ask for facilitation fee from the beneficiaries to get their case processed. The beneficiaries too have complained of being harassed by the welfare officers. Looking at the large number of complaints,the state had decided to transfer the money directly into the bank accounts. However,the plan went awry as the district welfare officers say that despite repeated requests,a large number of beneficiaries are not submitting the account details. Ludhiana district welfare officer,Rajinder Kumar said,In the district,cases of 6,700 beneficiaries are pending from December 2009 to March 2011. Out of these nearly 70 per cent have provided the bank account details. We are trying to locate the rest. Lakha Singh,the Additional Director Social security and Welfare,Punjab,however,said,We are updating the lists. We have got all the details from Sangrur,Patiala and few other districts while the rest are yet to provide the same. Still the response is satisfactory. Earlier,the state had made it imperative that age of the beneficiary girl should be 18 years or more and the applicants family income should not exceed Rs 30,000 per year. The benefit was available only for two girls in a family. Eligible girls are supposed to apply for the scheme before the marriage or on the date of marriage. The form should give the bank account number of the beneficiary so that amount could be credited directly in their account. After the receipt of form,district welfare officer would check the eligibility of the applicant and send the form to the headquarter for release of the amount. The applicants parents and guardians should be the domicile resident of Punjab.
