30.7.13

Of Direct Benefit Transfer....



As the Centre stitches together its plan to roll out the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme, BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh seems all set to achieve full coverage of some benefits through the scheme.
The scheme has been touted as a game-changer for the Congress in the lead-up to the 2014 polls. Ironically, a BJP-ruled state seems to have taken the lead. “We have achieved 100% rollout on DBT on MGNREGS and Rs.350 crore has already been paid,” Aruna Sharma, additional chief secretary (panchayat and rural development department) and development commissioner said.
The state has achieved the milestone through its electronic financial management system. Through its Samagra Samajik Suraksha Mission, the state has been able to map families in all its 53,000 villages and has identified 7.5 crore beneficiaries.
The programme of transferring pension through this system is already in place in 15 districts and more areas would be added soon.
Sharma said more benefits would be moved to beneficiaries through the DBT scheme soon. The system would also be linked to Aadhaar, she added.
MP’s readiness to embrace a scheme the Congress launched with a populist “aapka paisa aapke haath” slogan comes amid indications that the Centre is yet to get a fix on how to roll out the ambitious plan nationally. On Wednesday, the PMO said the responsibility for the scheme’s implementation was being taken away from Planning Commission to be assigned to the finance ministry: an acknowledgement of getting banks on board.
The lead that MP hopes to acquire will be in line with the pattern of non-Congress ruled states faring better, much to the chagrin of the Congress, which has lamented the way governments belonging to opposition have profited politically by successfully implementing central schemes.

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