In the wake of reports of the plight of the Padma award winners in the State facing financial crisis, the State Government has taken a decision to provide Rs 10,000 per month to them.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved such a proposal made by the State Culture Department.
Patnaik, after going through news reports about Padma award winners’ plight, had earlier asked theCulture Department to study their economic conditions.
The State’s four Padma Shri winners, Haladhar Nag, Daitari Naik, Kamala Pujari and Jitendra Haripal, were in the news for their poor financial conditions.
Recently, 75-year-old tribal farmer Daitari Naik of Keonojhar district, who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2018 for digging a three-km canal through a mountain in his area, had announced to return the award as he was not given work by the villagers after getting the award.
“People are not giving me any work as they think it is below my dignity,” Naik had told reporters.
Similarly, the financial plights of Haladhar Nag, Jitendra Haripal and Kamala Pujari were highlighted in the media.
According to official reports, a total of 84 persons from the State have so far been honoured with Padma Shri award, out of whom 45 have passed away.
Of the remaining 39 persons, financial conditions of some are precarious, said an official, who gathered information about the Padma awardees.