Assam to revise list of Orunodoi cash beneficiaries

District-level monitoring committees have been asked to exclude or include names on the basis of surveys done by college students

: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has sought a revision of the list of Orunodoi beneficiaries by excluding those who no longer need the financial grant and including others irrespective of political ideologies.

Orunodoi, launched in October 2020, entails a monthly grant of ₹1,250 to each of some 20 lakh beneficiaries. It is one of 18 flagship schemes of the Assam government currently in operation.

Chairing a review meeting on October 20, the Chief Minister asked the district-level monitoring committees to prepare a fresh list of beneficiaries within 10 days. The list is to be revised on the basis of surveys conducted by college students recently.

“Proper reasons should be cited for the inclusion of eligible people or the exclusion of the ineligible people,” he said at the video meeting with public representatives, deputy commissioners and members of the district-level monitoring committees.

He also said the new list of beneficiaries should be “above political ideologies and partisan intentions”.

The State government had a few days ago decided to include about 6 lakh fresh beneficiaries under the scheme after Mr Sarma appealed to some beneficiaries who got government jobs to withdraw voluntarily from the scheme.

The Chief Minister directed the members of the district-level monitoring committees to collect the data from the deputy commissioners, complete their investigation regarding those left out of the scheme and prepare a new list of beneficiaries within 10 days.