Cabinet clears proposal to give Delhi women Rs 2,500 under Mahila Samriddhi Yojana

New Delhi: Delhi Cabinet on Saturday cleared a proposal to provide Rs 2,500 every month to women from poor families in the city and allocated Rs 5,100 crore for its implementation.

A committee headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and ministers Ashish Sood, Parvesh Verma and Kapil Mishra as members has been set up to oversee the implementation of the Mahila Samridhi Yojana, which was a poll promise by the BJP.

The cabinet decision came to light during an address by BJP president and Union Health Minister J P Nadda at a party programme on International Women's Day at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Nadda congratulated Gupta for the decision.

"The Cabinet meeting, attended by all the ministers on Saturday, approved our Sankalp Patra promise made in the run-up to the (Delhi) election to provide Rs 2,500 each to poor women under the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana. We have also made a budget provision of Rs 5,100 crore for it," Gupta said.

She said registration of the applicants under the scheme will start through a portal after finalising the terms and conditions of the beneficiaries soon.

The scheme will leverage advanced technology to ensure transparency, efficiency and seamless disbursement of the financial benefits. An Aadhaar-based e-KYC authentication process will be employed to screen the applicants, a Delhi government statement said.

AAP launched an attack on the Delhi government, accusing it of failing to deliver on its poll promise before the International Women's Day.

"The women of Delhi are waiting to see Rs 2,500 messages on their phones. The BJP government has proved that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lied to them. I am sure, like this promise, all others will also be proven false," Atishi told reporters.

Atishi said instead of starting disbursements, the government has only formed a four-member committee.

During the Delhi Assembly campaign, Modi had assured that once the BJP government was formed, the scheme would be approved in the first cabinet meeting and funds would start reaching women's accounts by March 8.