3.5 lakh girls to be deprived of insurance

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Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsOver 3.5 lakh female children in Karnataka will be deprived of the benefits of ‘Bhaghyalakshmi,’ an ambitious insurance scheme by the State Government to help girl children in Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.Poor families will not be getting insurance bonds that will help them support their daughters health, education and marriage as they have failed to furnish BPL certificates within one year of the birth of the child.In 2011, the government made it mandatory to produce BPL cards to prevent misuse of the scheme. When the scheme was launched in 2006 by then deputy CM and finance minister B S Yeddyurappa, eligible families had to furnish ration cards and an income certificate issued by the Tahsildar. The BPL card was not mandatory.Under the scheme, which is touted to be one of the flagship programmes of the BJP, the government will give a bond of `19,300 for the first girl child and `18,350 for a second girl child. After 15 years, the bond can be pledged in a nationalised bank to get a loan upto `15,000 and when the girl attains 18 years of age, they get the maturity amount of `1 lakh.“The government claims that it is as an ambitious programme to help the girl children, but are they showing any interest to help poor girls?” asked leader of the opposition in the State Legislative Council S R Patil. “It is not right on the part of the government to raise technical issues like not providing documents to deprive poor families of the benefit,” he told Express.Many poor families in rural areas will not have any documents and they will not even be aware of the procedures to claim the benefits of government schemes. The government should show political will, he said.When the issue was raised in the ongoing session of the State Legislative Council, Women and Child Welfare Minister Kalakappa Bandi said that the government had given enough time to BPL families to claim the benefits. “There has to be some time limit for any scheme. We had given 365 days, which should be sufficient for them to submit the required documents,” he said. In Karnataka, as per the 2010 census, gender ratio is 964 women for 1,000 men. At the time of launching the programme the government had claimed that it is an ambitious step towards the empowerment of the girl child and to check sex discrimination and instill moral confidence in BPL families. Now, with the possibility of over 3.5 lakh poor girls staying out of its ambit, questions are being raised over the government’s commitment to help poor girls.first published:January 01, 1970, 05:30 ISTlast updated:January 01, 1970, 05:30 IST
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Over 3.5 lakh female children in Karnataka will be deprived of the benefits of ‘Bhaghyalakshmi,’ an ambitious insurance scheme by the State Government to help girl children in Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

Poor families will not be getting insurance bonds that will help them support their daughters health, education and marriage as they have failed to furnish BPL certificates within one year of the birth of the child.

In 2011, the government made it mandatory to produce BPL cards to prevent misuse of the scheme. When the scheme was launched in 2006 by then deputy CM and finance minister B S Yeddyurappa, eligible families had to furnish ration cards and an income certificate issued by the Tahsildar. The BPL card was not mandatory.

Under the scheme, which is touted to be one of the flagship programmes of the BJP, the government will give a bond of `19,300 for the first girl child and `18,350 for a second girl child. After 15 years, the bond can be pledged in a nationalised bank to get a loan upto `15,000 and when the girl attains 18 years of age, they get the maturity amount of `1 lakh.

“The government claims that it is as an ambitious programme to help the girl children, but are they showing any interest to help poor girls?” asked leader of the opposition in the State Legislative Council S R Patil. “It is not right on the part of the government to raise technical issues like not providing documents to deprive poor families of the benefit,” he told Express.

Many poor families in rural areas will not have any documents and they will not even be aware of the procedures to claim the benefits of government schemes. The government should show political will, he said.

When the issue was raised in the ongoing session of the State Legislative Council, Women and Child Welfare Minister Kalakappa Bandi said that the government had given enough time to BPL families to claim the benefits. “There has to be some time limit for any scheme. We had given 365 days, which should be sufficient for them to submit the required documents,” he said. In Karnataka, as per the 2010 census, gender ratio is 964 women for 1,000 men. At the time of launching the programme the government had claimed that it is an ambitious step towards the empowerment of the girl child and to check sex discrimination and instill moral confidence in BPL families. Now, with the possibility of over 3.5 lakh poor girls staying out of its ambit, questions are being raised over the government’s commitment to help poor girls.