The State Government provided over Rs44.52 crore so far to beneficiaries for cremation of human bodies under Harischandra Sahayata scheme.
The poor get financial assistance from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) for cremation under the scheme which was launched in August 2013.
Since then the poor beneficiaries have been provided a total of Rs44,52,08, 498 as financial assistance. The amount has been spent for as many as 2, 42,528 families till date.
While over Rs8.66 crore was utilised under the scheme from the State exchequer for cremation of 49,792 bodies in 2013-14 financial year , more than Rs16.35 crore was provided to beneficiaries under the scheme for cremation of 88,914 bodies during 2014-15.
The beneficiaries have been provided Rs19,49,98,486 financial assistance under the scheme for cremation of 1,03,822 bodies in the 2015-16, sources said.
Puri district tops in terms of availing financial assistance under the scheme while the number of beneficiaries is the least in Malkangiri district.
The financial assistance of Rs3,17,28,860, the highest amount, has been provided to beneficiaries through the district Collector, Puri, for cremation of 16,352 bodies in 2015-16, while the beneficiaries in Malkangiri have been provided Rs15,28,900 for cremation of only 796 bodies during the year.
Financial assistance was provided to beneficiaries for cremation of total 874 bodies in Deogarh last year. While the district Collectors provided the financial assistance to the beneficiaries for cremation of over 5,000 bodies in districts like Ganjam, Khurda, Nayagarh and Nabarangpur, the assistance was given for cremation of over 4,000 bodies in Cuttack, Bhadrak and Baleswar districts.
Beneficiaries in Sambalpur, Keonjhar and Bargarh districts have been provided financial assistance for cremation of over 3,000 bodies during last year.
Sources said that many rich and established families in Puri district do not hesitate to take the financial assistance under the scheme by presenting themselves as poor and helpless persons for cremation at Swargadwar.
As there is no system under the scheme to identify the true beneficiaries, affluent people are reportedly taking advantage of the scheme not only in Puri but in other places too.