New Delhi: Women eligible for the Rs 2,500 monthly financial assistance under govt’s Delhi Lakshmi Yojana will start receiving sanction letters from Aug 26 onwards. The money will be credited directly to their bank accounts from Sept 1, chief minister Rekha Gupta said Tuesday after a meeting in the Delhi secretariat.On Aug 1, govt started taking applications for the scheme, and in 18 days around 8 lakh women have registered, while more than 5 lakh applications have been submitted.The chief minister’s office said an event will be held at Talkatora Stadium on Aug 26 to mark the rollout, under which the eligible women will initially be handed the financial assistance letters.Under the scheme, govt will provide the monthly assistance to eligible women aged between 21 and 60 years. The eldest eligible woman in a family can receive the benefit if she has been a resident of Delhi for at least 10 years, possesses a voter ID and belongs to a family with an annual income below Rs 2.5 lakh.The scheme, however, has a detailed list of exclusions. Women who are income-tax payers, govt employees or pensioners, or already receiving another pension are not eligible.Those owning four-wheelers, or those who have more than three children, consume over 2,400 units of electricity a year, or those who have a govt employee in the family or a criminal record are excluded too.The beneficiaries can opt for Rs 1,000 every month in a central bank digital currency wallet to meet day-to-day expenses and the remaining Rs 1,500 in a recurring or fixed deposit account. Alternatively, they can get the entire amount deposited in as a recurring or a fixed deposit to build long-term savings.In the meeting with the chief secretary and senior officials, the chief minister reviewed the implementation of the scheme. Officials said the scheme has got a strong response from women across the city.Gupta also directed officials to scrutinise applications thoroughly and expedite verification and disposal of cases so that “benefits reach only eligible applicants” and “genuine beneficiaries” don’t face unnecessary delays.Local public representatives who are part of the district-level committees were also asked to examine applications carefully wherever there were doubts.Govt said a correction facility would soon be introduced on the official Delhi Lakshmi Yojana portal, allowing applicants who have submitted incorrect or incomplete information to rectify their details.TOI recently reported that due to the lack of an editing facility on the portal, applicants were facing difficulties.
