It’s raining sops inOdishaahead of the panchayat , scheduled in February. Chief ministerNaveen Patnaikannounced Rs 1000 aid each for 96 lakh families covered underBiju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana(BSKY) towardslivelihoodassistance.
The chief minister has directed officials to release the assistance within seven days. “Those who are yet to get BSKY smart cards can still avail the benefits by showing national Food Security or state food security cards as all of them are automatic beneficiaries of BSKY,” a government statement said.
Stating that welfare of the poor is the government’s primary focus, Naveen said, “Covid-19 has made major social and economic impact on families of theeconomically weaker sections. The government assistance is to help mitigate that pain.”
The Rs 960 crore livelihood assistance package comes a day after Naveen announced Rs 1444 crore house repair help at the rate of Rs 3,000 each to the beneficiaries of various state housing schemes and Rs 5,000 each for eligible families deprived of central housing benefits.