Delhi cabinet to relax criteria for Annashree

Struggling to find two lakh vulnerable families to cover under the Annashree scheme, the Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday decided to relax the eligibility criteria.

Struggling to find two lakh vulnerable families to cover under the Annashree scheme, the Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday decided to relax the eligibility criteria.

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According to chief minister Sheila Dikshit, any household whose head has been a resident of Delhi for at least three years and the annual family income is not more than Rs 1 lakh will be eligible for benefit under the scheme.

"The cut-off date for residing in Delhi has been fixed as January 1, 2010. The earlier cut-off date was April 1, 2008," Dikshit said.

The family, however, should not have been enjoying benefits under the below poverty line (BPL) and Antodaya scheme. "This is the basic criteria to be eligible under this scheme. The household should not be getting subsidized food under any other scheme," an official said.

Launched last year, the Delhi government gives a cash subsidy of R600 a month to nearly one lakh households. The money is transferred to the bank account of the female head of the family. The families were identified by a survey conducted by the Samajik Suvidha Sangam.