Mumbai: In an apparent bid to bolster the prospects of the Maha-Yuti (MY) government for the upcoming assembly elections and to ensure economic self-reliance of women, Shiv Sena legislator- Pratap Sarnaik who represents the Ovala-Majiwada assembly constituency has requested the chief minister to replicate the “CM-Ladli Behan Yojana” in the state toeing the lines of their Madhya Pradesh (MP) counterparts.
Emphasising on the positive impact on the lives of women, since the introduction of the scheme by the MP government, last year, Sarnaik in his letter to chief minister-Eknath Shinde has requested the replication of the successful women-centric model across the state. Initially offering a monthly amount of Rs. 1,000 to women, the scheme was later enhanced to Rs 1,250 per month by the MP government.
However, Sarnaik has sought monthly assistance of at least Rs.1,500 which can be gradually scaled up to Rs.3,000 for eligible beneficiaries including widows, divorces, underprivileged and needy women aged between 21 to 60 years, through direct bank transfer (DBT) facility.
“With the financial assistance, women will not only develop self-employment/livelihood opportunities using locally available resources, but will also be able to play an effective role in taking decisions at the family level. Moreover, the scheme will also reflect improvement in the health and nutrition status of women and their dependent children.” said Sarnaik who has requested the chief minister to launch the scheme on 15 August or during the Ganesh Utsav festivities.
As the scheme provides consistent financial support to women, it remained as one of the key factors for BJP's huge electoral success in MP.
