BPL families to get Rs 250 subsidy on 10 litres of petrol per month from R-Day: Soren

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that Below Poverty Line (BPL) families will get a subsidy of Rs 25 per litre for up to 10 litres of petrol per month from Wednesday.

Unfurling the Tricolour at Dumka Police Line on the occasion of the 73rd Republic Day, Soren said that his government is working tirelessly to build a Jharkhand that is free from fear, hunger, corruption and extremism.

On the completion of two years of the JMM-led government in the state, the chief minister had last month announced the subsidy on petrol for BPL families, which came into effect from Republic Day.

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"From today onwards, poor two-wheeler owners can get a subsidy of Rs 25 per litre for up to 10 litres every month under the CM-SUPPORTS scheme. The amount will be directly credited to their bank accounts," he said.

Under the scheme, BPL ration card holders of the state can register on CMSUPPORTS mobile application for the subsidy. A total of 73,000 of the 1.04 lakh applications have been approved so far.

Soren said that his government has made efforts to provide employment and ensure the participation of common people in administration and development.

"As per the educational index released by the Centre, Jharkhand has gained 29 points in the last one year, which is highest in the country.

"A total of 80 schools of excellence, 325 block-level leader schools and 4,091 gram panchayat-level model schools are being developed with the provision of modern infrastructure and quality teachers," he said.

Around 250 schools have been identified in various districts for implementation of mother tongue-based teaching system on a pilot basis, he said.

Soren said that the country was witness to what happened to migrant workers following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent nationwide lockdown.

"Migration can't be stopped completely. Hence, we want to do something for the betterment of migrant workers. The 'Safe and Responsible Migration Initiative' will be run as a pilot project in Dumka, Gumla and West Singhbhum districts.

"Later, a 'Comprehensive Migration Policy' will be prepared in the next 18 months after studying the problems related to the migration of labourers from Jharkhand to resolve those," he said.

Soren said that more than 80 lakh unorganised sector workers in the state have registered themselves on the government's e-shram portal.

Stressing on the need to generate employment, he said that action has been taken to speed up the process of appointment to vacant posts in the state government which is pending for years.

To provide maximum opportunities to youth from Jharkhand in government jobs, it has been made mandatory to pass classes 10 and 12 from a recognised institution in the state, besides having knowledge of local language and customs, he said.

"The state government has implemented 'The Employment of Local Candidates in the Private Sector of Jharkhand State Act, 2021' to ensure 75 per cent reservation for local youths in industries in the state, and this effort will help reduce unemployment and migration," he said.

Soren said that he was pained to see that lakhs of needy elderly people were not getting the benefits of the Universal Pension Scheme.

"We have decided that all elderly people, barring those coming under the tax net, will be eligible to get benefits of this scheme. Already more than 3 lakh people have benefited from the 'Aapke Adhikar Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar' scheme," he added.