CM launches scheme to help 3.12 lakh girls

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday launched the Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana (MKUY), one of the most ambitious schemes of his government. Over 3.12 lakh girls will be covered under the scheme in the current financial year. Each girl can get monitory assistance up to Rs54,100 under different components of the scheme.
The scheme, which will cover a girl from her birth up to graduation, will be jointly implemented by the departments of social welfare, health and education.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM asked the ministers and the principal secretaries of the three implementing departments to ensure that the beneficiaries get the benefits under the programme without any difficulty. He asked the officers, especially state chief secretary Deepak Kumar, to link the MKUY with the Right to Public Services (RTPS) Act so that people could easily avail the benefits after birth of a daughter within a stipulated period. He asked the chief secretary to discuss with the implementing departments how to link the scheme under the RTPS Act.
The CM also announced a hike of Rs500 for buying bicycles under the Mukhyamantri Cycle Scheme. “When we launched the cycle scheme for schoolgirls and boys, we paid Rs2,000 to each student for purchasing a bicycle of her or his choice. Later, this amount was increased to Rs2,500 per student. Now, Rs3,000 will be paid to each eligible student for purchasing a bicycle,” the CM said.
Nitish also said the hike would be implemented from the current financial year as the bicycle amount was distributed in the month of November each year.
Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said an estimated amount of Rs2,221 crore would be spent in the current financial year on the scheme implementation.
10 PU girls get Rs 25k each as incentive: As many as 10 girl students of Patna College on Friday received a sum of Rs 25,000 each as incentive for pursuing higher education under the Chief Minister Kanya Utthan Yojana. The cheques were handed over to the girls at a function held at Adhiveshan Bhawan here.
Girls who were awarded incentive money included Sanjan Rajan, Puja Kumari, Naaz Parveen, Komal Kumari, Simran Sinha, Sonali Mukta, Purnima Kumari, Bhumika Bharti, Neha Kumari and Pooja Rani.