In yet another populist measure ahead of general elections, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to launch a free bicycle scheme for the registered construction workers in the State on the International labour Day on May 1.
All the construction workers registered with the Sate Construction Workers' Board for three years would be provided cheques amounting to Rs 4,000 each towards the cost of the bicycle, said official sources here on Monday.
The sources said that along with the cheque for Rs 4,000 for buying bicycles, the construction workers would also be provided a safety kit of helmet, gloves and shoes. This was decided at a high-level meeting on the today chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik during the review of the implementation of various welfare schemes.
It was also decided to provide financial assistance to the children of the construction workers for pursuing their education in schools, colleges and technical institutions. In February, the Government had also announced a package for the construction workers. As per the package, Govt had doubled assistance money for the workers in the event of their death. While the assistance was increased to Rs 1 lakh from the existing Rs 50,000 in case of a normal death, Rs 2 lakh would be given to the family members in case of an accidental death.
Similarly, assistance for other purposes like marriage and child delivery had also been doubled, besides covering all the registered workers under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana.
The meeting was attended, among others, by Development Commissioner JK Mohapatra, Secretary of labouir and Employment CTM Suguna, Chief Minister's Principal secretary AP Padhi and State Construction Workers' Board Chairman Jogendra Tripathy.