‘Chief Minister – My Beloved Sister’ scheme; Applications will be accepted in the village itself until August 31, so there’s no need to rush – Collector Dilip Swamy

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Jimaka) – The government has relaxed certain conditions and rules to ensure that the benefits of the ‘Chief Minister: My Beloved Sister’ scheme reach the intended beneficiaries. Accordingly, applications for the scheme will be accepted until August 31, so women need not hurry to gather their documents. The administrative system is prepared to provide benefits to all eligible women, and applications will be accepted in their respective villages, announced District Collector Dilip Swamy at a press conference today.

A press conference was convened to inform about the government’s revisions to certain rules and conditions pertaining to the implementation of the ‘Chief Minister: My Beloved Sister’ scheme. District Collector Dilip Swamy, Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad Vikas Meena, District Women and Child Development Officer Suvarna Jadhav, and District Women Child Welfare Officer Reshma Chimandre were present at the press conference held in the planning hall of the Collectorate.

Collector Dilip Swamy explained that the decision to extend the application deadline for the ‘Chief Minister: My Beloved Sister’ scheme until August 31 was made during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Recognizing the rush for name registrations and applications for the scheme, the deadline has been extended to August 31, 2024. Even applications submitted by August 31 will ensure benefits from July 1. In case a female beneficiary does not possess a domicile certificate, any of the following four identity cards/certificates from the last 15 years will suffice: 1. Ration card, 2. Voter ID card, 3. School leaving certificate, 4. Birth certificate. The condition of owning a five-acre farm has been waived for this scheme. Additionally, the age range for eligible women has been adjusted to 21 to 65 years. If women born abroad are married to Maharashtra domiciled men, their husband’s birth certificate, school leaving certificate, or domicile certificate will be accepted. Collector Swamy provided these details.

He also announced that families with yellow and orange ration cards will be exempted from income proof requirements up to Rs. 2.5 lakh. Unmarried eligible women in such families will also benefit from this scheme.

Women need not carry the application form anywhere. The ‘Nari Shakti Dut’ app is available on the Google Play Store for registration. Villagers can contact the village sevak, anganwadi worker, anganwadi supervisor, or child development project officer for assistance. Beneficiaries can also self-register via the mobile app. It was emphasized that ward officers, anganwadi workers, supervisors, and child development project officers should be contacted in urban areas.

Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad Vikas Meena stated that arrangements have been made at the village, mandal, taluka, and district levels for disseminating information about the scheme and registering names. Instructions have been issued to use couriers for information dissemination in villages. He added that application forms can be filled through anganwadi workers, helpers, gram sevak, and talathi in villages. Furthermore, facilities have been arranged for women to open bank accounts and link Aadhaar. Banks have been instructed to facilitate zero-balance account openings.

Collector Swamy emphasized that women need not visit taluka or district levels or fall prey to any fraudulent practices by brokers. Registration can be completed in their own villages free of charge. However, he cautioned that any instances of exploitation should be reported immediately.