From Marriage Halls To Meals By Jeevika Didis: Bihar Cabinet Unveils Major Welfare Initiatives
Patna: In an important decision, the Bihar cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod to construct a “marriage hall” under the “Mukhya Mantri Kanya Vivah Mandap Yojana” in all the 8053 gram panchayats of the state.
Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena's Statement
“The marriage hall will be constructed by the gram panchayats at a cost of Rs 50 lakh each in all the 8053 gram panchayats of the state. The marriage halls will be constructed in a phased manner within a period of five years beginning the current financial year,” Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena told reporters here after the cabinet meeting that took 46 important decisions, some of them being very important.
It would entail a total cost of Rs 4026 crore on the construction of marriage halls in the state.
Its construction will help the common people in carrying out their social and cultural events that would ultimately help gram panchayats financially, besides ensuring community unity and environmental protection.
The marriage halls will be run and maintained by a village-level organisation, Meena said.
Cabinet Approves Rural Development Department's Proposal For Running "Jeevika Didi Ki Rasoi"
In another important decision, the cabinet approved the rural development department’s proposal for running “Jeevika Didi Ki Rasoi” at the Block level offices, Meena said, adding that “Didi Ki Rasoi” will be opened in Block-cum-Circle offices, Sub-Divisional and District level offices.
The move would enable the visitors coming from far-flung areas to get a taste of food cooked by Jeevika Didis, and in turn, it would provide jobs to the women.
It also approved the health department’s proposal to open Jeevika-sponsored “Didi Ki Rasoi” in all the government medical colleges and hospitals at a subsidised rate of Rs 20 per plate, Development Commissioner Pratyaya Amrit, who was also present along with the Chief Secretary during the press conference, said.
Didi Ki Rasoi will be made operational from July 1 in the first phase, Amrit said, adding that it will be extended further in other government hospitals later. It would cost Rs 5 crore on the scheme.
As per the caste based survey, 94 lakh out of 2.76 crore families were identified as poor families and in order to help them out financially, the state cabinet took a decision to set up a committee under the chairmanship of Development Commissioner to find out ways and criteria for disbursing Rs 2 lakh to women entrepreneurs.
There are altogether 1.40 crore members in 11 lakh self-help groups in the state. These 94 lakh poor families include both people who are either members of the SHG and those who are out of its ambit.
The cabinet also gave its nod to enhance the corpus of bank loan amount to be given to Jeevika from the current Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh at an interest rate of seven per cent, the Chief Secretary said, adding that the state government would reimburse the interest rate beyond seven per cent.
The high rate of interest proved to be an impediment in expanding the businesses carried out by Jeevika Self Help Group (SHG) but with the lower interest rate, the business is expected to grow, he said.
Cabinet Increases The Social Security Pension To ₹1,100 Per Month
In another important decision, the state cabinet increased the social security pension from Rs 400 to Rs 1100 per month to be given to 1.11 crore beneficiaries of different pension schemes in the state, Meena said, and added that the decision would incur an additional financial burden of Rs 9202 crore on the state’s exchequer.
The cabinet also approved a proposal under which Gram Panchayat can now take up works of up to Rs 10 lakh under MGNREGA. Earlier, the limit was Rs 5 lakh for giving administrative approval for work under MGNREGA, the Chief Secretary said, adding that it also made a 1.5-fold increase in the allowances of three-tier panchayati raj institutions and members of Gram Kutchery.
It also approved the proposal to give Rs 5 lakh as ex gratia to the next of kin of members of the three-tier panchayat raj system and gram kutchery. The ex gratia will be given in case of normal deaths of panchayat representatives during their tenure.
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