In order to woo labourers for its Mission 2017, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is expected to launch a pension scheme for registered labourers on the labour Day here on Friday. The scheme will be called as ‘Samajwadi Shramik Pension Yojana’. Under this scheme, a monthly honorarium of Rs 1000 would be given to labourers above 60 years of age. This scheme will be limited for those labourers who are registered with the Uttar Pradesh labour Department and who are not beneficiary of any other government scheme.
The function will be held at 5, Kalidas Marg, the official residence of Chief Minister. Ministers in Akhilesh Government are also expected to attend this meeting. Official sources said here on Thursday that labourers without any source of income, and who are above 60 years of age and registered with the state Government are entitled to get benefits under this scheme. Earlier, the state government had planned to launch it in a bigger function in presence of party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. But it was cancelled owing to Yadav’s engagements in ongoing Parliament session.
Officials said the scheme would be run by labour and Employment Welfare Board, which comes under the labour department. Government dossiers claim that over 20 lakh labourers are registered with the labour department. Of this, around one lakh who are above 60 year of age are eligible for this scheme. This would be an added benefit to the labourers of the state after the present Samajwadi Party government gave free cycles, free solar lights apart from insurance facilities to the registered labourers of the state.
Recently, the government also started a mid-day meal scheme for the labourers of the state on a pilot basis under which they are given food on subsidized rate. .“The only rider is that those labourers who avail benefit of other schemes like Samajwadi Pension Yojana would not be entitled for this scheme,” the official said.