In a Diwali gift to girls in families living below poverty line (BPL), Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) standing committee has approved  an insurance policy for all girls born after June 6, 2012. The beneficiary girl child will get Rs 1.24 lakh on attaining the age of 21, without  any investment from her or the family. NMC has decided to implement this scheme through the trusted Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).
The ambitious project has been planned by chairman of standing committee Dayashankar Tiwari on the line of schemes in MP,  Rajasthan, Haryana etc. However, NMC is the first civic body to implement the scheme on its own. Most such schemes are funded by  either the state government or the centre.
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Explaining the scheme announced during the budget presentation, Tiwari said it not only gives financial help to the girl child but also aims to reduce female foeticide cases. “Provision of Rs 1 crore has already been made in the annual budget for the scheme. All girls born after June 6, 2012, will be registered under the scheme within one year of birth. NMC will pay annual premium of Rs 2,258 per child. The beneficiary girl child will get Rs 1,24,500 at the age of 21. The family will get Rs 50,000 in case of the death of the beneficiary child, if she is over 7 years old,” he said.
Vowing to bring as many girls as possible under the scheme, Tiwari said that all departments related to the scheme have been directed to collect data on all girls. “Wide publicity will be given to the scheme by displaying banners etc at hospitals. Corporators too will be asked to ensure all girls from their ward are registered. Every effort will be taken to benefit all girls,” he said while releasing a poem on saving the girl child.
There were 15 other proposals before the standing committee and Tiwari said the panel was not at all satisfied with the water works department’s explanation related to hike in water tariff. “The department has just compared the water tariff of the city to a few selected towns getting water from Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran. It’s too late to go into the details, so the proposal has been forwarded to the general body,” he said.
Asked about bids received much below than estimated cost of road repair works, Tiwari said municipal commissioner Shyam Wardhane has directed officials to collect 25% security deposit from such contractors. “Contractors will be given back the amount only after defect liability period of two years ends, and the quality and quantity of works has been proven.”
The standing committee also passed a proposal related to new administrative building and set the completion target as June 2013. Besides, the committee also appointed a three-member panel to make a list of seized goods and price index for auction.
The proposal for construction of new bridge on Nag river at Juni Shukrawari was also approved in the meeting. The proposal had been pending for over 14 years. “BJP national president Nitin Gadkari had performed the bhoomipujan of the proposed work during his tenure as guardian minister between 1995-99,” Tiwari said.
