The Assam government paid on Tuesday $9,000 each to approximately 4 million households as part of the main beneficiary scheme, Orunodoi. This move comes a few days before the Election Commission is expected to announce the timetable for the state assembly elections. The poll is expected to be conducted within a week, and voting is likely to take place in April.
“From 1.8 million beneficiaries in 2020 when Orunodoi was launched $830 per month per beneficiary, and now the scheme covers 4 million women. About 10% of eligible women are still not covered by this program. To ensure their inclusion too, the BJP must come to power again,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said at an event in Guwahati.
He said that $Rs 17,000 crore has been disbursed under the scheme so far and an additional amount $3,600 crores will be transferred on Tuesday. He said the monthly amount $The $1,250 will also be raised once the BJP comes to power again.
“Now you get free rice provided by the center and one kilo of pulses, sugar and salt every month at a cost of $100. We want to give you these items for free once our government comes to power again and we also want to provide 500 grams of tea leaves to each family,” Sarma said.
On Tuesday, a record high $Rs 3,800 crore was distributed in a single day under the scheme launched in 2020 to empower women from economically disadvantaged families.
While the government makes the direct transfer $1,250 per month to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts, this time decided to deliver payments for four months (January to April) and an additional amount of $4,000 for Bohag Bihu, the Assamese New Year festival in mid-April.
Besides the main event held in Guwahati, where thousands of beneficiaries participated, programs were organized at 3,800 places across the state including panchayats and municipal wards where the amounts were transferred.
Reacting to the move, the Assam Congress unit in a post on X called for the move $9,000 in one go before the elections as an attempt to “buy votes” – a charge Sarma rejected.
“This is a controlled scheme that has been going on since 2020 and has nothing to do with the elections. It is a compassionate scheme with strict eligibility criteria. If it was aimed at winning the elections, we would have included everyone,” Sarma said.
