Cabinet okays draft Aadhaar Bill, sops for schoolchildren

Class 18 students to get free shoes, socks, sweaters

LUCKNOW: The state cabinet on Tuesday approved the draft of the Uttar Pradesh Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill 2017 to enact a new law making Aadhaar card mandatory for direct benefit transfer of any government funds to beneficiaries.

As the new law will make Aadhaar mandatory even for the Public Distribution System, the state government hopes to check pilferage and corruption in implementation of all the government schemes. Briefing reporters, minister for medical and health and government spokesman Siddharth Nath Singh said the new law will make Aadhaar mandatory to get benefits of any scheme in kind like the food grains given under the PDS. He said the Centre had expected the state government to enact a law to make Aadhaar mandatory for the direct benefit transfer of any government funds to

Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana have already enacted such a law on the pattern of the union government’s Aadhaar Act 2016. SIDDHARTH NATH SINGH, UP minister

the beneficiaries. He said Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana had already enacted such a law on the pattern of the union govt’s Aadhaar Act 2016.

MASS MARRIAGE SCHEME

The state cabinet also decided to launch the ‘Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana’ (Chief minister’s mass marriage scheme) for the marriages of daughters of those living below the poverty line.

Under the scheme, a sum of Rs 35,000 per marriage has been approved. Singh said the scheme will cover all sections of the society and the marriage of a minimum 10 couples will be performed at any such mass marriage programme.

He said urban local bodies, district panchayats, area panchayats and NGOs will be authorised to get such marriages performed. A dress, ‘bichhiya’ (toe ring) and a mobile phone will be given to the bride and a sum of Rs 20,000 will be transferred directly to the account. Aadhaar will also be mandatory for this scheme.

FREE DISTRIBUTION

The cabinet also approved the free distribution of shoes, socks and sweaters to students of classes 1 to 8 in primary and upper primary schools of the basic education board in UP. A sum of Rs 300 crore has been earmarked for the scheme that will benefit about 1.48 crore students. Each pair of shoes will cost Rs 135.75 while Rs 21.85 will be spent on each pair of socks. The prices for sweaters will be decided through e-tendering.

KEROSENE LICENCE

The state cabinet approved an amendment to Uttar Pradesh Kerosene Control (14th amendment) Order 1994 to provide for one-time license for distributing/selling kerosene. Singh said though amendments had been made to Uttar Pradesh Kerosene Control Order 1962 to provide for one-time licence and this came into practice the rules in this regard could not be amended earlier.