7.88 lakh women sought women pension from Sukhu government, 2384 applications rejected

Shimla, September 06: The issue of monthly pension of Rs 1500 for women by the Sukhu government of Himachal Pradesh echoed in the assembly on Thursday. During the question hour, BJP MLA Rakesh Jamwal raised the matter of giving Rs 1,500 per month to women aged 18 to 60 under the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi scheme.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dr. Dhaniram Shandil said that 7,88,784 women have applied for this. So far, a total of 28249 women have benefited under this scheme and 2,384 applications have been rejected due to not fulfilling the eligibility conditions. He said that only one member from a family will get Rs 1,500 per month. He said that a budget provision of Rs 22.84 crore has been made under this scheme in the current financial year.

He said that a total of 2,45,881 women receiving social security pension are being provided benefits by increasing the amount of pension they were receiving earlier. He said that in Lahaul Spiti, 1006 women are being given an amount of Rs 1500 under Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi since January this year and Rs 1.20 crore has been spent on this so far.

In response to a question asked by MLA Anuradha Rana, Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said that an alternative route will be built from Bhaba Nagar Pin Valley to Kaza in Lahaul-Spiti. This will reduce the distance to Kaza by 100 km. MLA Dalip Thakur raised the issue of danger to many villages due to non-embankment of Seer Khad during the Question Hour. On this, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said that the estimated cost of embankment of Seer Khad from Barchhwar to Jahu Bridge in Sarkaghat Assembly constituency is Rs 157 crore. For this, work can be started in case of getting funds from the Central Government.

In response to the question of MLA Hardeep Singh Bawa, Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said that 1 link road in district Solan is pending due to non-receipt of approval of Forest Clearance Act (FCA). In response to the question of MLA Surender Shourie, Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said that the construction work of 1.900 km long Banjar bypass road is going on and the remaining work will be completed soon.