Sonia Gandhi Urges Congress CMs To Ensure Easy Disbursal Of Rs 6,000 To Lactating Mothers

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written to Chief Ministers of all the states ruled by her party, asking them to ensure that very eligible pregnant women and lactating mothers receives a payment of at least Rs 6,000 as promised under the National Food Security Act.

"I would like to urge you to critically review the cumbersome requirements which significantly reduce the coverage of the pregnant women and lactating mothers under the scheme," Gandhi wrote in her letter dated November 26.

The letter accessed by News Nation was sent to Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy.

The Congress chief said that barely 22 per cent of women received the benifits envisioned under the Food Security Act largely becasue of the implementation architecture.

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"It is reported that barely 22 per cent of women received this benefit (even a single installment) in 2017-18. This is largely due to the implementation architecture prescribed for the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.

"The online payment scheme which is linked to the Aadhaar card has proven somehwat unreliable. Misallocation of the amounts, wrong Aadhar linkage etc have been reported repeadtedly," she added.