Jhargram: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari inaugurated a new nutrition support scheme for eligible tribal families in Jhargram on Friday, under which families will receive rice, pulses, cooking oil and soya chunks on a weekly basis, The CSR Journal reported. Adhikari said the programme is an addition to the existing ration scheme under the PM Annasurakhya Yojana and is meant to ensure no tribal community member lacks access to nutritious food.

Source: The CSR Journal

The scheme was announced in the state budget for the current year and targets families belonging to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). According to the chief minister, it is expected to benefit approximately 70,000 families in Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur districts — yaani about seventy thousand households. The launch took place at Kalajharia, a village predominantly inhabited by the Lodha-Sabar tribal community, and a short summary of the launch was also carried by Inshorts.

Source: Inshorts

70,000tribal families expected to benefit in Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur
Rs 1,500new monthly ST old-age pension announced
Rs 342 croreallocated for Jhargram's development
2 lakhJhargram students to get Rs 800 ST scholarships

Pension hike, scholarships and a development package

Adhikari said biometric verification would be implemented so that every eligible family receives the benefit and none is excluded. He also announced that the monthly old-age pension for Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries would rise to Rs 1,500, and that around two lakh students in Jhargram would be awarded Scheduled Tribe scholarships of Rs 800 each, The CSR Journal reported.

Source: The CSR Journal

Outlining wider plans for the region, the chief minister said tribal universities are planned in Bankura and Jhargram, Rs 342 crore — yaani Rs 3.42 billion — has been allocated for Jhargram's development, and the district magistrate has been instructed to ensure comprehensive progress within six months. He also announced the forthcoming 'Adivasi Mahila Samriddhi Yojana', aimed at providing guaranteed employment for 125 days, with new job cards to be issued to those seeking them.

Source: The CSR Journal

What is solid

  • Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari inaugurated the nutrition support scheme in Jhargram on Friday; it gives weekly rice, pulses, cooking oil and soya chunks to eligible tribal families and supplements the PM Annasurakhya Yojana ration (The CSR Journal; Inshorts).
  • The scheme targets Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group families and is expected to cover about 70,000 families in Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur, with biometric verification (The CSR Journal; Inshorts).
  • An ST old-age pension of Rs 1,500 a month and Rs 800 scholarships for about two lakh Jhargram students were announced at the same event (The CSR Journal).

What is only claimed

  • Adhikari's claim that the previous government allocated only about Rs 6 crore for development work in the western region, and hindered central schemes, is the chief minister's political allegation against the former government, reported as his claim, not as an independently verified figure.

The state government said the nutrition support is in addition to the existing ration entitlement, not a replacement for it. Awaaz Punjab will track the scheme's first distributions in Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur.