Presenting the Union Territory’s annual budget for 2024-25 with an outlay of ₹12,700 crore in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly on Friday, August 2, 2024, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy announced a slew of welfare measures including provision of ₹1,000 per month to students studying in government schools, subsidy for working women and girl students belonging to the Adi Dravidar communities to buy e-scooters, reimbursement of medical expenses for Below Poverty Line families, decision to distribute free rice in kind along with pulses, sugar and oil at a subsidized rate.
Introducing the scheme aimed to attract students to government schools, the Chief Minister said a sum of ₹1,000 per month would be provided for a period of three years for government school students who had studied in Classes 6 to 12 to pursue undergraduate degree courses. The Mudhalvarin Pudhumai Penn scheme would enable working women and college girl students belonging to Adi Dravidar community to avail 75% subsidy for buying e-scooter, he said.
Stressing on welfare measures, the Chief Minister has announced the government’s decision to reimburse medical expenses of people living under the BPL category through Pondicherry Medical Relief Society. The government will provide financial assistance to BPL category people for converting their huts into pucca house under the old scheme of Perunthalaivar Kamaraj Centenary Housing Scheme.
The government also proposed to identify 10 villages in the UT having a population of more than 50% of Scheduled Caste people. A sum of ₹50 lakh will be spent in the villages for next three years for improving infrastructure needs. The retention scholarship provided by the government to students belonging to Adi Dravidar community from Class 1 to 5 will be enhanced to ₹5,000 from ₹ 1,000.
Likewise, the pre-metric scholarship given to the students from Adi Dravidar communities studying in Classes 6 to 8 has been enhanced to ₹5,000 from ₹1,500. The students studying in Class 9 and 10 will get enhanced assistance of ₹8,000, the Chief Minister said.
In order to achieve 100% immunisation in the UT, the government has decided to provide a sum of ₹10,000 to all children who are born and residing here. For availing the sum, the child should have completed all immunisation schedule as per the Universal Immunisation Programme (Mission Indradhanush) till the completion of one year (Fully Immunised Child), the Chief Minister said.
Distribution of free rice
The government has decided to distribute free rice and pulses, sugar and oil at a subsidised rate, the Chief Minister said adding that a SMART-PDS scheme was proposed to be implemented from the current financial year. The technology based initiative would bring the food distribution network under a single platform to enable authorities to monitor food grain movement at various levels, from procurement to distribution, on a real-time basis, he said.
So as to encourage vegetable cultivation, the government proposed to introduce En Veedu En Nilam scheme - to grow vegetables in homes and establish rooftop gardens. Under the scheme, the government would provide inputs worth ₹5,000 free of cost and ensure technical support from KVK. Financial assistance at ₹2.50 per sq.ft to the maximum of 4,000 sq.ft would be given to schools for development of vegetable gardens in their premises.
Cruise terminal at port
On the infrastructure front, the government proposed to construct a cruise terminal at Pondicherry Port and a Multipurpose Tourism Product Zone at Manapet. The Airports Authority of India will soon take up the technical and economic feasibility to expand the Puducherry Airport runway, the Chief Minister said.
The government proposed to construct a new 110/22 KV sub station at Thavalakuppam and Gas Insulated Sub Station at Lawspet. The government also intended to strengthen the existing distribution network at a cost of ₹83.14 crore, the Chief Minister said.
