The
government will set up camps in educational
institutions and villages to speed up enrollment of beneficiaries under direct cash transfer
scheme, a
finance ministry official said.
Direct
cash transfer, a method the government hopes will plug leakages and cut delays
in transfer of subsidies to the poor, is to be rolled out in 51 districts in 15
states from January 1.
Enrollment
camps will be set up in schools and colleges for cash transfers under
scholarship schemes, and in villages and bank branch service areas for all
other schemes.
"Concerns
have been raised on how we will be able to enroll beneficiaries. This
camp-based approach will help us reach out to every nook and corner of the
country," the official said. Earlier in the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister
P Chidambaram had denied that the government was implementing the cash transfer
system in a hurry, saying measures were being implemented step by step to
eliminate leakages, delays, and falsification.
"The
scheme was not devised in a hurry. It will not be implemented in a hurry. Our
watchword for the scheme is 'we will not hasten, will implement it slowly, step
by step'" Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The
camps, which will function for three consecutive days, will help beneficiaries
open a bank or Postal Account and also apply for an Aadhaar number—a unique
identification number being issued to all resident Indians. These camps will
have representatives from the district administration, the leading bank in the
region, and the postal department.
All
departments concerned will coordinate with the district magistrates for the
smooth functioning of these camps, the official said. Once data is captured in
the system, it will be transmitted to the district office of the department concerned.
Collated
data will be shared between government departments, banks and Post Offices for
cross-verification.
"This
will be a massive exercise that will be carried out over the next two three
weeks, being undertaken under the supervision of district-level co-ordination
committee," the official said.
The
official said the process will help cross-check data on beneficiaries and help
avoid duplication. The government has already begun the process for
implementing direct transfer of cash subsidy on PDS kerosene in 11 states and
Union Territories.
The
department of food and public distribution proposes to implement the scheme for
beneficiaries of the Targeted Public Distribution System in six Union
Territories on a pilot basis.
Source :
The Times of India
