CM’S Bangaru Talli sop to aid girl child’s education

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Monday announced Bangaru Talli scheme to protect the girl child and empower her.

Speaking at a well attended public meeting in Sangareddy town in the neighbouring Medak district, the Chief Minister said every girl child born in a poor family after May 1 would be provided annual financial assistance initially for a healthy upbringing and later for a better education.

The CM also announced “pacha toranam” wherein the women beneficiaries of National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme would be provided 200 saplings each and a financial assistance of `3,000 per month for five years to raise them.

The best part of Bangaru Talli, as reported in these columns on Monday, is that the government will provide a legislative backing to it on the lines of SC/ST sub plan. Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy also punctured criticism that “Bangaru Talli” was only a renaming of an existing Central scheme for girl child protection.

“The state government will provide `1.5 lakh for each girl child in addition to the amount given in the existing scheme,” a senior official said adding that state would incur additional expenditure of `200 crore every year for “Bangaru talli.”

The girl child will get annual financial assistance amounting to `55,000 by 21 years and `50,000 or `1 lakh depending on the age of marriage in addition to `60,600 already provided as pre- and postmatric scholarships.

The CM gave credit of the scheme to a resource person in Orvakallu who announced in one of his meetings that one has to born as a girl, that too in Andhra Pradesh.