MP CM announces Ladli Behna Yojana aid hike, subsidised cylinders, 35% job reservation for women ahead of Assembly polls

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday cited the holy month of 'Sawan' underway and raised the financial aid given to women in the Ladli Behna scheme from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,250 per month and also announced 35 per cent reservation for them in government jobs and providing gas cylinders for Rs 450.

Assembly polls are likely to be held at the end of the year in MP, a state where women consist of 7.07 lakh of the 13.39 lakh new voters and whose rise in numbers in the electoral list stands at 2.79 per cent against 2.30 per cent for men.

"Women will get cooking gas at Rs 450 in the holy month of Sawan. Later, a permanent system will be evolved in this regard. I have also transferred Rs 250 into the accounts of 1.25 crore women so that they can celebrate Rakhi (on Tuesday) well. The rest of the Rs 1,000 (under Ladli Behna Yojana) will be credited in September," he said.

From October, 1.25 crore women will get Rs 1,250 (under Ladli Behna Yojana) and the amount will gradually be hiked to Rs 3,000 per month so that the aim of uplifting the economic and social condition of women is fulfilled, the CM said at an event connected to the scheme.

The CM also said the reservation for women in government jobs has been raised to 35 per cent from the current 30 per cent, while it will be 50 per cent in teachers' recruitment.

As per state government data, a sum of Rs 3,628.85 crore has been given as financial aid to eligible women under the Ladli Behna Yojana that started on June 10 this year.

As part of the scheme, women in the 23-60 age group get Rs 1,000 per month if they are not income tax payees and the annual income of their families is less than Rs 2.5 lakh annually.

Women voters outnumber their male counterparts in at least 18 of the 230 Assembly seats in MP, including in tribal-dominated areas like Balaghat, Mandla, Dindori, Alirajpur and Jhabua.

The number of new women voters in MP (since 2018) has gone up by 2.79 per cent, while it is 2.30 per cent for male voters, officials said. Of the 13.39 lakh new voters, 7.07 lakh are women.

As per the Hindu calendar, the month of Sawan, also called Shravan in several parts of India, started on July 4 and will conclude on August 31.