The queer amount of annual income fixed by the state social welfare department for a OBC category student studying in classes from I- X to avail scholarship is making many wonder whether there would be any such student left from the community to claim the scholarship.
It is learnt that the students belonging to OBC category having family income of around Rs 122 per day are liable for scholarship. Under this scholarship scheme, Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) job cardholders whose income is Rs 174 per day are not eligible for it despite them being from the OBC community.
Earlier, the students who were having family income of around Rs 33 per day were eligible for the scholarship.
State social welfare director VS Dhanik , however, thinks otherwise. He said that the scholarship is meant for those from the families of the daily wage earners who do not get work on daily basis.
He expressed hope that the income limit being increased from around Rs 33 per day (Rs 12, 000 per annum) to around Rs 122 per day (Rs 44, 500 per annum) would bring under its ambit a large number of beneficiaries.
He further said that they had revised the amount from Rs 12, 000 to Rs 44, 500 per annum acting on the direction of the state government,
He said that the Central government’s guidelines had also been taken into account while fixing the income limit for the OBC scholarship.
Observers, however, differ with the officer, saying that the amount thus fixed being lower than the annual minimum earning under MNREGS makes it difficult for most of the OBC students to avail the scholarship.
“Such students face difficulties in collecting income certificates too. The patwaries take time to verify things. Besides, having ration cards is a must,” said an observer. Another observer said,
“The income amount fixed for the OBC students to avail the scholarship should be raised so as to bring many others apart from those of the wage earning families under its beneficial cover.”
Recounting his woe in collecting income certificate, Ramesh, resident of Raipur, who is also a daily wager, said that he had earlier approached Janadhar for income certificate to enable his son studying in Class four in government school to receive scholarship.
“I made affidavit, stating that my income is Rs 900 per month. However, I failed to receive the income certificate from the social welfare department as I had no ration card to support my claim. I tried to get a ration card. But I failed to manage one,” he lamented.