GUWAHATI: The Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Government of Assam, on Wednesday, released the 1st installment of ex-gratia Rs 500 each to 8,51,642 beneficiaries. This financial assistance is provided under the special package of the Government of India, rolled out under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) to help the vulnerable section of people in view of nationwide lockdown called to prevent the pandemic of COVID-19.
Naba Kumar Doley, Minister, Panchayat and Rural Development Department, has personally been monitoring the disbursement process.
It may be mentioned here that under this PMGKY assistance programme Rs.1000 each will be paid in two instalments of Rs.500. For this, the beneficiaries of Old Age Pension, Widow Pension and Disabled Pension under National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) will be covered. Under this package, Government of India has sanctioned an amount of Rs. 4204.93 lakhs. With this amount, first instalment of Rs 500 each is disbursed to the beneficiaries’ account through DBT. Out of these beneficiaries, 7,05,022 are old age pensioners, 1,12,040 are widow pensioners and 34,580 beneficiaries are under disabled pension scheme.