BJP, Cong criticise Annshree merger with national scheme
The Delhi government’s decision to merge the Shiela government’s much-touted Annshree project with the Central government’s National Food Security Scheme has drawn sharp criticism from the Congress and the BJP.
Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan on Monday accused the Sheila and Kejriwal governments of cheating 15 lakh people in Delhi.
“The former Congress and AAP governments had announced to pay ` 600 per month to families under the Annshree Yojna in the name of food security. These families have not received even a rupee. Now the government is saying the scheme will be merged with the National Food Security Scheme. This way, the Delhi government has betrayed 15 lakh people of Delhi,” said Vardhan.
A delegation of Congress MLAs led by the party’s Delhi chief Arvinder Singh met the chief secretary over the issue. “Through this scheme, needy people were getting financial help. This scheme is now being stopped and we will not tolerate it. The beneficiaries should be enrolled under the food security scheme first and then only a decision on merging it with food security should be taken,” said Singh.
The Delhi government had recently decided to merge Annshree with the national food scheme. From April 1, Annshree beneficiaries will stop getting the cash subsidy of ` 600 per month they have been getting since 2012, when the scheme was launched. Instead, they will get the benefits of the central scheme launched last year — a family’s eldest woman will get rice at a subsidised rate of ` 3 and wheat for ` 2 per kilogram.
“15 lakh poor families whose income was less than R1 lakh per year filled up the application forms under Annshree. As per the latest information, The Delhi government has not been able to complete the verification of 15 lakh application forms after several months,” said Vardhan.
Vardhan said many families alleged they were forced to pay bribes in government departments to get the ` 600 per month and despite this, they had not received a single rupee.