Sir— This refers to the Union Cabinet giving the nod to maternity benefit programme, that entails extending freebie of `6,000 to every woman employed in Government and public sector enterprise on her first pregnancy in 53 select districts of the country. It is significant that the costly gift of `12,661 crore in the first three years from the public exchequer was never demanded by any one. Otherwise also, employees in Government and public sector are considered to be better paid than those in the private sector. Withdrawal of such schemes can attract criticism. Union and State Governments should avoid making people addicted to freebies at the cost of the public exchequer, funded by hard-earned money of taxpaying citizens.
