Telangana: Pending ration cards make youth ineligible for Rajiv Yuva Vikasa

The scheme, launched with the aim of supporting the youth who have plans to start self employment, has the State government extending loans up to Rs 4 lakh with a maximum subsidy of 100 per cent and a minimum subsidy of 60 per cent. However, the government made possession of ration cards mandatory for applying for the benefit

Sangareddy: The State government’s condition that a ration card is mandatory to apply for the Rajiv Yuva Vikas scheme is making many youngsters ineligible for the scheme.

The scheme, launched with the aim of supporting the youth who have plans to start self employment, has the State government extending loans up to Rs 4 lakh with a maximum subsidy of 100 per cent and a minimum subsidy of 60 per cent. However, the government made possession of ration cards mandatory for applying for the benefit.

---

According to the State government, it had received more than 10 lakh applications across the State for new ration cards during the Praja Palana programme while over 18 lakh applied for inclusion of names in existing cards. There were 85,000 applications for new ration cards pending in Sangareddy district alone while the district already had 3.52 lakh white ration cards and 26,000 Antyodaya Anna Yojana ration cards. While the government set the deadline for applying for the benefit as April 5, beginning from March 17, there are no signs of the new ration cards being distributed before that.

The poor youth belonging to SC, ST and BC communities were urging the government to extend the deadline for applying for the benefit. They further urged the government to issue the ration cards first and take the applications for Rajiv Yuva Vikasa later. The government, which allotted Rs 6,000 crore for the scheme, would grant subsidised loans to at least 4,000 youths in each of 119 assembly constituencies.

Speaking to Telangana Today, B Ashok, a native of Jogipet, said many of them were found ineligible to apply for the scheme since they did not have ration cards. Former Andole MLA Chanti Kranthi Kiran demanded government to consider the request of these youths, failing which they would organise protests to do justice to them.