Assam Transfers Rs 3,800 Crore To 40 Lakh Women Days Before Poll Schedule Announcement

The Assam government on Tuesday released Rs 9,000 each to nearly 40 lakh families under its flagship Orunodoi scheme, with the state assembly election schedule expected to be announced within days and voting likely in April, the Hindustan Times reported.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, speaking at an event in Guwahati, highlighted the scheme's expansion since its inception. "From 1.8 million beneficiaries in 2020 when Orunodoi was launched with Rs 830 per month to each beneficiary, now the scheme covers 4 million women. Still around 10% of eligible women are not covered by it. To ensure that they also get included, BJP has to come to power again," he said.

Sarma added that Rs 17,000 crore has been disbursed under the programme to date, with an additional Rs 3,600 crore transferred on Tuesday. He also promised a hike in the monthly amount upon BJP's return to power.

The Tuesday payout, which set a single-day record of Rs 3,800 crore under the scheme, bundled four months of payments from January to April at Rs 1,250 per month along with an additional Rs 4,000 ahead of Bohag Bihu, the Assamese new year celebrated in mid-April.

Distribution events were held at 3,800 venues across the state including panchayats and municipal wards.

Sarma also dangled further benefits for voters. "Right now you are getting free rice given by Centre and one kilo each of pulses, sugar and salt every month at a cost of Rs 100. We want to give these items free of cost to you once our government comes to power again and also provide 500gm of tea leaves to each family," he said.

The Congress unit in Assam called the pre-election payout an attempt to buy votes. Sarma rejected the charge. "This is a controlled scheme which has been going on since 2020 and has nothing to do with election. It's a compassionate scheme with a strict eligibility criteria. If it was aimed at winning an election, we would have included everyone," he said.

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