Punjab’s Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister, Dr. Baljit Kaur, has clearly stated that the Punjab government will provide financial assistance of Rs. 1000 per month to women across the state without any discrimination. She also said that this scheme will be launched after the upcoming assembly session.
Dr. Baljit Kaur was responding to the Haryana government’s ‘Lado Lakshmi’ scheme. Speaking about it, she said that this scheme has proven to be a huge deception for women. Out of a total female population of 1.40 crore in Haryana, only 5 lakh women, or just 3.73 percent, have received the first installment. She said that excluding the remaining 96 percent of women from this scheme is a blatant injustice. This policy is clearly discriminatory and against the true spirit of women’s empowerment.
Dr. Baljit Kaur said that the Haryana government has imposed such stringent conditions on this scheme that most women have automatically been excluded from its purview. If the annual income is less than one lakh rupees, the age is more than 23 years, the woman’s husband is from another state, or someone in the household is already receiving a pension, then the woman will not be eligible for this scheme. Due to such conditions, girls from poor families, newly married women, widows, and college-going girls have been completely excluded from this scheme.
Dr. Baljit Kaur said that the Punjab government will start providing financial assistance of Rs. 1000 per month to all women across the state without any discrimination after the upcoming assembly session. This initiative will be a historic step towards the economic empowerment and self-reliance of every woman in Punjab.
