Rs 1k aid to women: Delhi steps closer to launch of scheme

NEW DELHI: Delhi govt has set the ball rolling for implementing the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, which aims to provide Rs 1,000 financial assistance to women aged above 18.
On Monday, Delhi women and child development minister Kailash Gahlot said he has instructed officials to expedite the process to ensure the scheme clears all "bureaucratic hurdles" and is launched as quickly as possible.

“I have asked the department to prepare the cabinet note so that we can initiate the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana. The scheme’s primary objective is to provide assistance to women belonging to economically weaker sections, help them lead dignified lives and become financially independent. We want to ensure the women of Delhi get the benefit of the scheme at the earliest,” he said.
A senior Delhi govt official said the cabinet note will go for approval to three departments — finance, planning and law. “The officials will vet it, give comments, and after their approval, it will go to the cabinet,” he added.
However, some officials pointed out that implementing the scheme may not be simple as chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is currently in jail, which prevents cabinet meetings from taking place. “It has to be notified by the cabinet and after that, it goes to the LG for approval,” an official said.
Kejriwal is in Tihar jail in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. Officials in the ministry said they were hopeful of the CM’s release and have started the process so that the scheme gets cabinet approval as soon as CM is out.
AAP govt had announced the scheme in its 2024-25 budget and plans to introduce it before the 2025 assembly elections, hoping to woo women voters. At the time, Kejriwal had called it the “world’s biggest programme” for women’s empowerment. An allocation of Rs 2,000 crore was made for 2024-25 for the scheme.
A woman must be registered as a voter in Delhi to be eligible for the scheme. She would have to fill out a form and give a self-declaration fulfilling certain conditions — that she is not a part of any govt scheme, is not a govt employee, and is not a taxpayer. On the basis of the self-declaration, she will start getting the benefits of the scheme. Along with the form, the woman also must provide her Aadhaar card and bank account information.
“Whenever a daughter or sister in our families comes home, her elder brother or father gives her some money because they want their sister or daughter to fulfil her needs without being dependent on anyone. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, fulfilling the duty of being an elder brother, and a son, is bringing the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojna,” Delhi finance minister Atishi had said in the assembly while announcing the scheme.
According to the electoral roll of Delhi published in Jan this year, there are 67,30,371 female voters in the national capital.
“There are over 67 lakh women voters in Delhi. You can exclude the income taxpayers from the scheme and the women who avail the benefits of govt schemes. I think it (Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana) will benefit about 45-50 lakh women,” Kejriwal had earlier said.