Setting a 15-day deadline, the Punjab Government on Thursday ordered verification of all welfare schemes.
Besides, the government has also decided to receive applications for the Shagun and Inter-Caste Marriage schemes through Sewa Kendars.
The decisions were taken by the state Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Welfare Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot on Thursday during the Department’s review meeting.
Dharamsot has instructed the Welfare Department to verify all the welfare schemes within a span of 15 days so as to correct the discrepancies in the same ensuring benefits to the genuine persons.
He also instructed that applications concerning Shagun and Inter-Caste Marriage schemes are to be received through Sewa Kendars “to adopt transparent procedure to give benefits under the schemes”.
“The purpose of running SC/BC welfare schemes would be served only when the benefits would reach real beneficiaries. The economically weaker sections can transform their lives for the better with the assistance of these schemes,” said the Minister.
Dharamsot gave instructions for submission of a comprehensive report regarding hostels constructed so far under ‘Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatravas Yojna’ and elaborated that a proposal about constructing girls hostels in six districts of Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala, Bathinda, ludhiana and Mohali, with capacity of 100 each, is to be sent to Union Government to provide residential facility to the girls during their studies.
He said that the scholarship forms of students, hailing from private institutions, should be verified by Tehsil Welfare Officer or District Welfare Officer before sending the same to the Union Government in order to stop the misuse of the schemes.
Instructing the officers of Welfare Department to discharge their duties with dedication, the Minister also said that all the welfare schemes besides those being run by the Punjab Scheduled Castes Finance Corporation (PSCFC) and BACKFINCO must be publicized extensively through print and electronic
media.