MP CM Shivraj showers sops on women

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.

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.

He also said cooking gas cylinders will be provided to women at Rs 450 in August to mark ‘Sawan’. 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.

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The Congress mocked the move with State unit chief Kamal Nath writing on X that the BJP was trying to salvage its sinking ship. “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,” Chouhan 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, he said at an event connected to the scheme. The Chief Minister 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. He said women will get tracts of land in industrial estates to open small scale units, adding that the aim of the state government was to raise the income of women to at least Rs 10,000 per month. Women will be given free land in villages and plots in cities that have been cleared of encroachments, Chouhan added. 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.