ASSAM GOVT’S TO LAUNCH ORUNODOI SCHEME TODAY

GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal will formally launch the Assam government’s flagship scheme ‘Orunodoi’ on Tuesday at Numali Jalah Parade Ground, Aminagon. Assam finance minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma will also attend the ceremonial kaynch of the ambitious scheme.

“The budgeted amount for this Scheme for this year is 2800 Cr. This marks a paradigm shift in the approach to poverty alleviation program, where government does not decide how money should be spend for the poor, but where a substantial cash transfer to poor households shall enable them to take informed decision to spend money on health and nutrition,” stated an official press release.

While designing this program government has kept in mind the basic requirement of health and nutrition of a household. The entitlement would support family to buy medicines worth Rs 400 per month, subsidy worth 50% of the 4kg pulses work Rs 200, subsidy worth Rs. 80 for sugar and subsidy for essential vegetables and fruits worth Rs 150. This medical and nutritional support will have a consolidated inflow of Rs. 830 per month to a family.

One of the other salient features of this program is to ensure timely credit of the right subsidy amount transferring the benefit directly into the account of the nominated female head of the household. Research has shown that, the financial benefits provided by governments are better utilized for the intended purpose if the control is in the hand of the female of a household. The female head of the household who have missed opening bank account should approach the nearest banking facility, i.e. a bank or a banking correspondent to open their bank account under Jan Dhan Yojana.

The application process of Orunodoi Scheme started from September this year. Preference has been given to the households having widow, unmarried women and especially abled person. It is also to be mentioned that households having, four-wheeler, tractor, TV, fridge, etc. will not be eligible under the Scheme. Further, this is an ongoing scheme, eligible households which could not be included in this phase shall be considered in the subsequent years of the Scheme. It may be noted that if anyone who is not eligible, but has enrolled for the Scheme may voluntarily contact GP office/VCDC/ULB to remove their name.

The scheme envisages to cover 20 lakhs with approximately 90 lakhs of population in all 33 districts comprising of 2277 Gram Panchayats and 100 urban areas. However, the scheme implementation in BTDA districts on hold and shall be undertaken after withdrawal of election code of conduct. In order to assist DCs in program implementation, 504 Orunodoi Sahayaks have been engaged. As mentioned earlier, this is an ongoing Scheme

For the current Financial Year 20-21, the benefit will be given for five (05) months i.e. November to March. The Payment schedule is as below-

It is of utmost importance to ensure that all beneficiaries receive the entitlement in their bank accounts. The transfer of the entitlement amount to the beneficiary account shall be made directly from the state treasury through eKuber system of Reserve Bank of India. The process also requires checking at multiple steps as per laid down Government financial guidelines. Further in order to minimize any payment failure due to technical glitch, we have undertaken a pilot of transferring a token Re 1 to most of the beneficiaries. The final transfer of benefit will require approximately three (03) days to complete and the benefit will be credited in your bank account within this timeframe.

In addition to this, the payment to the beneficiaries of different districts shall be staggered across 4 days. The payment schedule for Orunodoi Scheme shall be as follows:

It may be noted that the scale of DBT scheme like Orunodoi is first of its kind in India. No other states have such high coverage of DBT scheme nor match the amount of the cash transfer that is being made. This is going to add a new chapter in development story of Assam & India and shall go a long way to alleviate poverty in the state.